Foreign-funded groups must apply to hold election forums

Civil society groups that receive foreign funding must apply to the Supervisor of Elections before holding election debates, forums and other campaign activities, Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Usaia Ratuvili says.

Justice Ratuvili confirmed on Friday that the new rules were now in force, but said they did not ban the groups from holding such activities.

“The amendments do not impose a blanket prohibition,” he said.

The rules follow concerns from civil society groups and the legal profession over changes to section 115 of the Electoral Act 2014.

Fiji Law Society president Graham Leung has also criticised moves to prevent courts from reviewing certain commission decisions.

How applications will be assessed

Groups must complete a form stating who funds them, the activity’s theme and its agenda. The commission said the form was still being prepared and would soon be available on the Elections Office website.

Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa will assess the content, the amount of foreign funding involved and whether a donor is directing the activity towards a candidate, party or outcome. She must make a decision within seven days.

A group can request a review by the commission within three days. The commission must decide on the review within a further three days.

Justice Ratuvili said groups funded entirely from local sources faced no restrictions.

“There’s no restriction on what you do,” he said. “We’re not going to be policing the actual content of the program.”

However, he said Ms Mataiciwa could reject an application if the activity was not neutral, was biased or was misleading.

Ms Mataiciwa said the application process was similar to what groups had completed for the past three elections.

“This is not an ambush,” she said.

Asked whether there had been enough consultation on the changes, Justice Ratuvili said: “That is for some other people to say, it’s not for us.”

Voter education groups still need written authorisation.