Opposition MP and National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad yesterday told Parliament that the Electoral Registration of Voters (Amendment) Bill was the product of dictatorship, pseudo-democracy and the “my way or the highway” approach to governance in order to ensure continuity of the FijiFirst rule in the country.
Prof Prasad said the changes did not even remotely resemble the flaws exposed by the High Court about registration of names of voters after a successful case in the Court of Disputed Returns by SODELPA MP Niko Nawaikula.
Prof Prasad said Nawaikula’s nominations for election candidature were duly accepted and approved by the Supervisor of Elections twice, in 2014 and 2018.
He said the Supervisor of Elections failure rate in removing candidates for elections as well as members of Parliament was alarming.
“This Bill is the product of dictatorship, pseudo-democracy and my way or the highway approach to governance in order to ensure continuity of the FijiFirst rule in this country,” he said.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said in 2015, the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem was asked by the Pacific Islands Forum to lead the observer mission group to Bougainville, in 2016 he was part of the MSG Observer Mission to the Vanuatu snap elections and in 2017 he was part of the observer mission to the Tongan elections.
He said Mr Saneem also held elections in a fair and credible manner.
