Ballot papers that will be used in Fiji’s 2022 General Election will begin from the number 173 which was determined at a ball draw with in-person and virtual attendees including media reps, and some political party officials.
Carried out at the Fijian Elections Office in Suva this morning, the ball draw was attended by “members of political parties including the Party Leader for Social Democratic Liberal Party as well as the Acting President of the Fiji Labour Party with other stakeholders tuning in to the live event.”
The event was also witnessed by a Fiji Police Force officer.
The number drawn is in line with Section 36(2) (c) of the Electoral Act 2014. The Act outlines that the Electoral Commission is required to approve the first three (3) digit numbers of the Ballot paper for the 2022 General Election.
Prior to the ball draw, the Electoral Commission had approved that the ballot paper for the next election will start with the series 100, so the first number in the 3-digit number would be one (1) followed by two (2) digits that were drawn randomly from the barrel by the Chairperson.
After the draw, a sample of the ballot paper with about 200 candidates for the next general election was demonstrated to political representatives that had attended as well as on the live platforms. The next general election can be held between 9 July 2022 and 9 January 2023.
