Former Govt MP Sudhakar questions voting system
Ashneel Sudhakar warns voters could be left uncertain about who represents them under the proposed 55-member Parliament.
Tuesday 20 October 2026 | 11:30
Updated 20 October 2026 | 12:47 FJT
Former Lands Minister Ashneel Sudhakar during a public consultation on Bill No. 32 of the 2026 Constitution (Amendment) Bill at Ba Market Bure on October 19, 2026.
Photo: Katherine Naidu
Former Lands Minister Ashneel Sudhakar has questioned whether voters would know who could represent them under Fiji’s proposed electoral system.
He questioned the allocation of party-list seats in the proposed 55-member Parliament.
Speaking during a public consultation on Bill No. 32 of the 2026 Constitution (Amendment) Bill at Ba Market Bure yesterday, Mr Sudhakar questioned Clause 64, which proposes 33 constituency seats and 22 party-list seats.
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The lawyer said the proposed arrangement could leave voters uncertain about which candidates would eventually enter Parliament through the party-list system.
“There are 55 seats, and I have read it many times, and I could not make sense of it. Of the 55 seats, 33 are constituency-wise and 22 are party list on the open system,” he said.
Mr Sudhakar questioned whether voters would know enough about the candidates who could enter Parliament through the party lists.
“For the constituencies, you can vote for the 33 that you like. The 22 who are on the party list sitting at home, we do not know who they are, or we might not know. But they might by default come into parliament whom we do not desire,” he said.
He warned that the system could undermine voters’ democratic rights if they did not know who might ultimately represent them.
“That actually diminishes a bit of the democratic rights of all our people because they do not know whom they are voting for,” he said.
Mr Sudhakar also questioned how long it would take to establish constituency boundaries, saying population movements could complicate the process.
“If we have 33 constituencies, I believe it will be based on district-wise, and it will take a lot of time because the population has moved. So the constituency system and constituency drawing of boundaries will take a lot of time,” he said.
He urged the committee to explain how the proposed electoral system would work and questioned the urgency of the constitutional reform process.
“Why is there a rush? Had the process started earlier, maybe we would have had a lot of time to review the constitution,” he said.
Mr Sudhakar said voters needed sufficient time to understand the proposed changes before any referendum.
