Corporate report

Fiji - Country of Concern: latest update, 30 September 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

0.1 Latest Update: 30 September 2014

There have been positive developments on democracy in the last three months, culminating in a peaceful national election that has been judged credible by international observers. Political parties campaigned freely and the media reported openly on the process. A record number of women were elected, and Fiji has been reinstated as a full member of the Commonwealth. However, restraints placed upon NGOs and recent allegations about police brutality have raised concerns.

On 17 September, Fiji held a national election for the first time since 2006 – an important step in returning the country to democracy after eight years of rule by an unelected government. 248 candidates representing seven parties, plus two independents, contested 50 parliamentary seats. 591,000 voters were registered (93% of the eligible population). A turnout of 84% was recorded, with many young people voting for the first time.

Voreqe Bainimarama was sworn in as Prime Minister after his Fiji First party won a comfortable majority. A total of eight women were elected to parliament. One vacated her seat to become Speaker – the first woman to be appointed to this role. Although women will only occupy 14% of seats, this is a higher proportion than ever before in Fiji.

A group of five opposition parties claimed there had been polling irregularities, including tampering with ballot boxes. The Electoral Commission investigated, but found the allegations had no substance. The political parties have now accepted the results.

Polling was monitored by 92 observers from 13 countries, under a Multinational Observation Group (MOG), led jointly by Australia, India and Indonesia, at the invitation of the Fijian government. The group included five UK observers, headed by Meg Munn MP. In a preliminary statement issued on 18 September, the MOG declared the election, conducted in “an atmosphere of calm, with an absence of electoral misconduct or evident intimidation”, was “on track to broadly represent the will of the Fijian voters”. The MOG’s full report will be released in coming weeks.

The Minister for Asia Pacific, Hugo Swire, welcomed the election as “a first step on the road to a fully democratic Fiji” in a statement, which also encouraged respect for other aspects of democracy, including media freedom.

The Fiji Elections Office conducted a national programme of voter education. However, NGOs were prevented from playing a meaningful role by restrictions in the Electoral Decree. Section 115 of the Decree prohibits any group in receipt of foreign funding from participating in any election-related activity, without consent of the Electoral Commission, including: organising meetings, interviews, or any form of public debate. Breaches carry heavy penalties: large fines and a maximum ten-year prison sentence.

Although some organisations applied successfully to conduct election activities, section 115 has undermined freedom of expression. Fiji’s NGO Coalition on Human Rights described the provisions as “an attack on the integrity and independence of NGOs”. The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum, a prominent NGO, is under a criminal investigation after hosting a university panel discussion on free and fair elections without approval. Plans by a coalition of civil society organisations to form a domestic election observer mission were rejected by the Minister for Elections. The negative effect of restrictions placed upon civil society was noted in the MOG’s preliminary statement.

There was widespread coverage of the campaign period and the election, both domestically and internationally. 450 journalists were accredited to report on the election. The Fijian media reported the views of all parties, but a lot of the coverage remained openly biased towards the government. The MOG statement highlighted that the restrictive regulatory framework for the media “limited the media’s ability to examine rigorously the claims of candidate and parties”.

Over the last three months, the UK has provided targeted support for the democratic process. Through regional programme funds, we supported: the development of an Information Management System for tabulating the results of the election (crucial to the election and its credibility); training for police officers on their roles and responsibilities in policing the election; and, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a three-day seminar for media professionals on parliamentary reporting, delivered by two former BBC journalists. The Welsh National Assembly and Scottish Parliament also provided experts through a UNDP project to advise on the infrastructure requirements for the new Fijian parliament.

On 26 September, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) met in New York. Recognising the credible elections and assumption of office by a democratically elected government, CMAG decided to rescind Fiji’s suspension from the Councils of the Commonwealth, and to reinstate Fiji’s full membership of the Commonwealth.

In other human rights developments, a man died in police custody in August. Political parties and NGOs have claimed Vilikesa Soko was violently assaulted following his arrest. The police announced an investigation and two officers have been suspended.   ##Give your comments and questions about the report Submit a question or comment on the report here

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