New Electoral
p. 18 · Read in the full issue
Regulations For Fiji
FJI has completely revised her electoral regulations for holding Legislative Council elections.
One of the most important changes is the appointment of the District Commissioners of the Southern, Eastern and North- Western Divisions as returning officers instead of having the Registrar General in Suva as the sole Returning Officer. One result of this will be that votes will be counted soon after polling finishes, by each of these officers instead of all the ballot boxes having to be returned to Suva before counting began, as in the past.
Under the new Regulations, Indian voters will be able to cast postal votes for the first time — provided they can sign their names in English handwriting. It is said that it is “not considered reasonable to expect returning officers to identify thumb prints or signatures in Indian script.”