STAY put! That’s the message Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre coordinator and human rights advocate Shamima Ali is sending out to all eligible voters.
“Stay near your polling station, cast your vote on December 14 and make it count,” she said.
She said December was a time when people, especially the iTaukei, made Christmas plans and moved around, and because Fijians can only vote at their designated polling station, it was important they did just that.
“I just want to say to people, do not fear about anything anyone tells you,” she said.
“Vote with your heart, vote with the experiences of the past few years, but do cast your vote.
“I just want to say something else – election is on December 14.
“This is when we move, particularly the iTaukei people. This is when our Christmas plans are being made.
“I would say to people, stay put near your polling station because now you can only vote at your polling station, apart from other ways of voting, but you have to vote from there. So stay put and make sure, make your vote count.”
Ms Ali encouraged all those who were 18 and over to make their voices count.
“As Martin Luther King said, if you can’t fly, you run. If you can’t run, you walk, if you can’t walk, crawl.
“For goodness’ sake, I would add on, cast your vote on the 14th of December.”
Meanwhile, during a rally at Naveiwakau Methodist Church hall on Tuesday night, The People’s Alliance deputy leader Filimoni Vosarogo said Fijians between the ages of 18 to 40 can determine the government who will “determine their future”, provided they go to the polls and vote.
