Elections in Fiji

Fiji’s national general election chooses 55 members of the unicameral Parliament. The country forms one nationwide multi-member constituency, without separate ethnic or regional reserved seats. Fiji uses open-list proportional representation: a voter selects one candidate, each candidate’s votes count toward the candidate’s party total, and the Electoral Commission allocates seats using the D’Hondt method. Parties and independent candidates must reach the 5% nationwide threshold for seats to be allocated. The Electoral Commission independently oversees the electoral system, determines the seat framework and declares the result. The Supervisor of Elections and the Fijian Elections Office handle voter registration, voter education, nominations, logistics, polling, counting and the Final National Results Tally. A writ is the formal order that starts an election. The President issues it on the Prime Minister’s advice and formally receives it back after the result. Parliament normally serves four years from its first sitting after a general election, but Fiji has no fixed polling day within that period. For the 2026 general election, the earliest possible writ date is 24 June 2026 and the latest is 24 December 2026; the possible polling-day window runs from 7 August 2026 to 6 February 2027. The exact date comes from the writ and the election notice. The campaign period starts on 25 May 2026, and campaigning is prohibited from 48 hours before polling day until polling closes. A voter must be a Fiji citizen aged at least 18 and must be registered before voting. A person serving a prison sentence of at least 12 months, or a person legally found to have a mental disorder or to be of unsound mind, is excluded from voting under the stated legal conditions. Registration is made personally through the Fijian Elections Office or a Voter Services Centre. The usual documents are a birth certificate and valid photo identification, such as a Fiji passport, Fiji National Provident Fund identification, driver’s licence, social welfare identification, Tax Identification Number card or student identification. A person born overseas may also need citizenship, naturalisation or registration evidence, or confirmation from immigration authorities. The National Register of Voters is the official voter register. Duplicate registration is unlawful, and a change of residence should be reported within three months. After the writ is issued, the register and polling-venue allocation cannot normally be changed. The public can inspect the register and object to another person’s entry with reasons and a statutory declaration. The Fijian Elections Office generally assigns a voter to the polling venue nearest to the registered residential address. One venue can contain several polling stations, and the venue locator identifies the assigned location. A voter cannot change venues on election day. An alternative venue may be used only when the assigned venue is unavailable because of an interruption or unforeseen event. Pre-poll voting usually takes place about one week before election day, particularly for people in remote areas. Postal voting is available for people overseas and for people who cannot attend in person under the applicable conditions. On election day, polling normally runs from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; anyone waiting at 6:00 p.m. is still served. The voter presents a voter card or valid photo identification, is checked against the voter list, signs the required record, receives one ballot paper and marks the chosen candidate’s number secretly. Mobile phones are prohibited inside the polling station. Candidates may stand through a registered political party or as independents. A candidate must be a Fiji citizen without another citizenship, be registered as a voter, and normally have lived in Fiji for at least two years before nomination. A person serving overseas may qualify through at least 18 months of residence in the preceding 24 months. Other restrictions cover undischarged bankruptcy, detention at nomination, recent relevant convictions, election-law or voter-registration convictions, and membership of the Electoral Commission during the previous four years. Each candidate pays a $1,000 deposit. An independent candidate must also provide 1,000 supporters. The nomination submission includes a birth certificate and photograph. The Supervisor of Elections provisionally accepts or rejects nominations after a review that usually takes about 24 to 48 hours. A rejected candidate may appeal to the Electoral Commission. A registered voter may object to a nomination, with a $100 fee for each objection. A candidate may withdraw by noon on the day after nominations close; a replacement cannot be made after the nomination deadline. Election-day ballots are counted at the polling station. Pre-poll and postal ballots are counted at the National Count Centre. The Fijian Elections Office sends the Final National Results Tally to the Electoral Commission, which allocates the seats, publishes the result and returns the writ to the President. In the 2022 general election, 693,915 voters were registered, 473,910 votes were cast and turnout was 68.3%. The election filled 55 seats from 343 candidates representing nine parties and two independents; the official final results were issued on 18 December 2022 and the writ was returned on 19 December 2022. A procedural complaint can be raised with the presiding officer or the Fijian Elections Office. A party or candidate can submit a written complaint about a decision by the Supervisor of Elections or another election officer to the Electoral Commission, generally within two days. A challenge to the election result itself does not use the ordinary complaint form. It requires an election petition under Part 5 of the Electoral Act in the High Court, which acts as the Court of Disputed Returns; the petition generally must be served on the respondent within two days. Voters do not pay a voting fee, but candidates face the nomination deposit and objectors face the objection fee. After the result, the President summons Parliament within 14 days of the announcement. The party with more than half the seats forms the Government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. If no party has majority support, Parliament can hold up to three votes, each within 24 hours of the previous vote. If no majority emerges, the Speaker informs the President, who must dissolve Parliament within 24 hours and issue a new writ. The Electoral Commission and Fijian Elections Office also administer local government and industrial elections, but industrial elections do not elect general public mandates.