Free voter rides proposed under new election Bill

The campaign-free zone around polling venues will shrink from 300 metres to 100 metres, while voters could soon be offered free rides to polling stations by political parties.

This is proposed under the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2026, which is before Parliament.

The Bill, gazetted last week and awaiting review by a parliamentary standing committee, would also scrap the 48-hour campaign blackout period before polling day.

Under a new clause, political parties, candidates or their representatives may legally provide voters with free transport to and from their assigned polling venue, as well as refreshments during the trip, provided they do not attempt to influence how voters cast their ballots.

The Bill would create two categories of election offences, “corrupt electoral practice”, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000, and “illegal electoral practice”, punishable by a fine of up to $40,000.

Voters using assistive learning or speaking devices would also be exempt from the ban on electronic devices inside polling booths.

Ballot-counting rules would also change, with discarded ballot papers required to be accounted for. Provisional results would be published periodically instead of continuously during counting.

The Electoral Commission (EC) and Fijian Elections Office (FEO), in an earlier statement, said the proposed law changes, “arising from operational experience, stakeholder feedback”, aimed to improve the “accessibility, inclusiveness, and administration of elections”.

“The proposed amendments do not affect the operational readiness of the EC or the FEO to conduct the General Election,” the statement read.

The EC and FEO said they remained ready to hold the election within the constitutional window, regardless of the Bill’s outcome or timing.

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