‘Exercise your right to vote’ Saneem urges as 7498 voters expected at 22 poll venues today

The Fijian Elections Office is urging voters to exercise their right to vote today at the 22 polling venues that were adjourned on November 14 as a result of adverse weather. Picture: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT FACEBOOK PAGE

By LAISEANA NASIGA

Registered voters who cast their votes on November 14 at the 22 polling venues that were later adjourned as a result of adverse weather will still have to vote today.

And according to Supervisor of Election Mohammed Saneem, 7498 people were expected to cast their votes at these 22 polling venues.

“If a voter’s finger contains indelible ink, they will still be allowed entry into the polling venue to mark their ballot paper. The voter will then have to ink another finger,” Mr Saneem said at a press briefing in Suva yesterday.

“Any voter who has already voted at these locations will be allowed to vote again. All votes that were received from these places on Election Day will be cancelled. They will not be counted.

“We will be using freshly printed ballot papers as well as new ballot boxes to facilitate elections at these venues and voters can come and vote between the hours of 7.30am to 6pm.”

He said the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) had distributed letters to the community leaders of the adjourned areas informing them of the voting date.

It is understood that the FEO has also organised three-tonne trucks and a minibus to transport voters from these affected areas to their polling venues.

Mr Saneem urged voters to exercise their right to vote.

* Laiseana Nasiga is a final-year journalism student at The University of the South Pacific in Suva.