Banana wins Rishikul poll
On February 9 this year, the social science department, together with the student representatives, conducted a mock election for all Year 10 students.
This event was carried out for the first time in our school which was part of the topic introduced to Year 10 – Introduction to Elections.
The polling station was set up at the Rishikul Sanatan College Hall. This mock election was carried out to help the students learn more about the election process, how voting is carried out, counting of the votes and seat allocation.
A total of 169 students took part in the mock election. For the purposes of this mock election, 100 pre-marked Ballot Papers were used. Hence, a total of 269 votes were cast out of which five were declared invalid.
There were three political parties contesting for 10 seats in the parliament. Since it was a mock election, dummy party names and candidates were used.
The three parties were Fruit Party, Vegetable Party and Root Crop Party.
The majority of the number of votes cast was for the Fruit Party (215 votes) and the second was the Vegetable party with a total of 32 votes, the least votes were cast for the Root Crop Party with a total of 17 votes.
The candidate with the highest number of votes was Banana with a total of 139 votes. We realised that Banana was the favourite among the students.
THE VOTING PROCESS
During the election process the voters showed patience and co-operation despite waiting for long hours.
The polling station was opened by the Presiding Officer at 1.30pm and general instructions were given to the voters.
The polling station closed at 3.10pm after which the ballot boxes were opened in front of the media officials, polling agents and the observers and the counting of ballot papers was carried out
Research Officer Ravneel Chand from the Fijian Elections Office was present at the polling station to observe the mock election.
He addressed the students and guided the election officials through the counting of the votes.
The process of the election was steered efficiently and was very well organised by the teachers and Year 10 students. The voters were given clear instructions and the voting was fairly done.
Conclusion:
There were no hiccups or any form of turmoil throughout the election process. The mock election was conducted in a transparent, credible and accountable manner.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eshilta Nivarni is a Year 10 Student at Rishikul Sanatan College in Nasinu. During the mock election exercise she played the role of a Media Official. She feels that the Introduction to Elections Module for Year 10 students is an important and essential tool that will enable students to better understand the dynamics of the electoral processes in Fiji. Eshilta aspires to become a doctor in the future.
Edited by George Kulamaiwasa
Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj
