Transparency Integrity Fiji urges Electoral Commission to clarify AI election forecast rules

Transparency Integrity Fiji (TIF) is calling on the Electoral Commission to urgently clarify how AI-generated election forecasts will be regulated, warning that such predictions could influence voters and undermine electoral integrity if left unchecked.

In a statement yesterday, TIF said the issue was one of voter autonomy and electoral integrity, stressing that every voter should be free to make an independent choice at the ballot box.

The organisation noted that the Electoral Act 2014 already protects a voter's right to make independent decisions, including safeguards for voters with disabilities who require assistance.

It said while assistance was permitted, it must never influence a person's vote.

TIF argued the same principle should apply to artificial intelligence and other forms of political technology.

It warned that if AI-generated information or predictions were deliberately designed, presented or amplified to improperly influence voters, it would raise serious questions about the integrity of Fiji's electoral process.

The organisation is urging the Electoral Commission to clarify, before the election period, how AI-generated election forecasts and predictive models will be treated under Sections 110 and 110A of the Electoral Act 2014, rather than waiting until the final seven days of the campaign.

TIF said advances in artificial intelligence meant election forecasts could now be generated using historical election results, political trends, social media sentiment, leadership credibility, party resources and voter behaviour.

It said voters deserved to know whether the information they were seeing was a verified fact, an opinion poll, statistical modelling or simply a prediction.

TIF said it was not calling for a ban on AI, but for clear rules, transparency and accountability.

"Our elections belong to the people. Technology can inform a voter, but it must never take away the voter's freedom to choose. The Electoral Commission should clarify the rules now, before AI-generated forecasts become capable of influencing the electoral environment, rather than waiting until the final seven days when it may be too late."