DTA

Master di Primo Livello

SANEEM, MOHAMMED

etd-10202021-115757

The establishment of a permanent election management body in Fiji and its impact on the transparency and credibility of elections.

Istituto di Diritto, Politica e Sviluppo

Corsi Alta Formazione - MASTER IN ELECTORAL POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION

relatore Prof. DE GUTTRY, ANDREAS M.T.
Relatore Robert Gerenge

• Credibility
• Election process
• EMB performance
• Transparency

26/10/2021;

completa

This research aims to examine the impact of a permanent election management body [EMB] on transparency in voter registration and polling venue management, and the credibility of the election in terms of invalid votes by comparing the performance of the ‘Office of the Supervisor of Elections’ [OSE] in the 2006 General Election against the ‘Fijian Elections Office’ [FEO] in the 2018 General Election. The OSE was established on an ad-hoc basis while the FEO conducted the election having been operational as a full time statutory body since 2014. The Observer reports from both elections provide pertinent information in making the assessment and analysis against internationally accepted standards of transparency and credibility in these specific processes. Electoral processes need to be planned, prepared and practiced by the EMB well in advance of an election. For instance, in 2006, the observers noted that the EMB was unable to compile an accurate, credible voter roll citing major issues at the Election while in 2018, observers noted that the voter roll, while with minor deficiencies, was accurate and credible. Observers similarly highlighted major gaps in the management of polling venues at the 2006 General Election which caused confusion and resulted in the conduct of polling with risk to ‘secrecy of the ballot’. In 2018, Observers noted orderly conduct of polling at all polling stations and the consistent application of polling procedures throughout the country. The 2006 General Election recorded over 70,000 invalid ballot papers. In contrast, the observers noted extensive strategic voter education efforts of the Fijian Elections Office for the 2018 General Election and as a result invalid votes were at 0.9% (4,197 ballot papers). This paper uses the findings of the observers to compare the performance of the OSE as opposed to the FEO in conducting these specific processes in the election and ultimately determine whether the establishment of a permanent EMB, contributed to the enhancement of transparency and credibility of the electoral process.

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