15 Aug 2007

Fiji falling behind agreed election schedule

3:04 pm on 15 August 2007

There are indications that Fiji is slipping behind the schedule to be able to conduct elections late next year or early 2009.

Among the tasks to be completed are a census, updates to the electoral roll and a redistribution of constituency boundaries.

The chairman of the joint Forum/Fiji Working group, Peter Eafeare, who is PNG's High Commissioner to Fiji, says agreed milestones, such as setting up a Constitutional Boundaries Commission, are yet to be reached:

"Not withstanding the fact that you require a full constitutional body like a parliament to decided on that, it was supposed started 7th July and be completed by the 31st August still not seen hide nor hair of CBC."

The chairman of the joint Forum/Fiji Working group, Peter Eafeare