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Press Release - August 29, 2001
Voting
"An individual's right to vote in a secret ballot is enshrined in section 36 of the Constitution.
The Constitution further states at section 54(1) that the election of a member of each constituency is conducted under the preferential system of voting known as the alternative vote," said Fiji Human Rights Commission, Senior Legal Officer, Mr. Usaia Ratuvili.His comments comes after a statement by US Congressman Ernie Falemavoega earlier this week stating that the Preferential voting system could be seen as being unconstitutional since it takes away the individual voter's rights and instead transfers these rights to the political parties who make these choices on his behalf."In examining the way that the alternative vote works, we are satisfied that if a voter is adequately familiar with how his or her vote will be utilised and also with how his or her party has given their preference, then they are assured that their vote and their intention as expressed in the ballot paper will be respected," said Mr. Ratuvili.The Human Rights Commission sees no reason why the preferential voting system per se is unconstitutional although the onus is on the Elections officials and the various political parties to educate their voters on the alternative vote system well before polling starts.