WITH the grant assistance from the Indian government, the Fijian Elections Office has received another four new Mahindra SUV vehicles today.
The vehicles were formerly handed over by India’s High Commissioner to Fiji Vishvas Sapkal to the Supervisor of Elections at the FEO warehouse at Laucala Beach in Suva.
Mr Saneem acknowleged the assistance of the Indian government towards the FEO.
“It is an honour and privilege to once again be here to receive some assistance towards the 2018 general elections and for the future for the FEO. On the day we received this assistance in the form of a cheque for the sum of $224,000, I mentioned that the election is the largest logistics exercise in peacetime for any country and Fiji is no different,” Mr Saneem said.
He said the vehicles would assist the FEO with their transportation requirements.
“The unique features of our elections involve a lot of transportation requirements for various areas that are through roads that would require tough terrain vehicles as well as vehicles that can sustain the off roads requirements basically in those areas. The Mahindra vehicles that we have purchased from the assistance are actually designed for these roads,” he said.
“From our experience in 2014, these are very strong vehicles reliable in these conditions and vehicles that can actually handle some of the difficult driving that we have to manage through to get equipment across, to get equipment back.”
Mr Sapkal said it was important to provide this assistance because it would strengthen the democratic process for Fiji.
