Councils to elect 141 councillors in September municipal polls

The Ministry of Local Government has revised council seat allocations based on population data ahead of Fiji’s first municipal elections since 2005.

The 13 municipal councils will collectively elect 141 councillors across 40 wards in September, with Suva and Nasinu each allocated 27 councillors.

This was revealed by Seema Sharma yesterday during the Standing Committee on Social Affairs submissions in Parliament.

Ms Sharma said a new population-based formula, developed with an international elections expert, was used to determine how many councillors each ward and council would have, dividing councils into small, medium and large categories.

“In total, we have 141 councillors across all 13 municipalities. Suva and Nasinu are 27, Lautoka is 15, and then it gradually goes down, and then the smaller councils are between six to four,” she said.

Nasinu’s allocation was increased from 25 to 27 to reflect population growth recorded in the most recent national census.

Savusavu, as a single-ward council, will have a maximum of four councillors.

A ward is a defined area within a town or city from which a set number of councillors are elected to represent residents.

The September polls will be Fiji’s first municipal elections in 21 years, with the last held in 2005.

Voters must register on a newly created Local Government Register of Voters to participate, even if they are already on the national electoral roll, and must have lived within their ward boundary for at least three months.