23 Aug 2007

Search for an election chief in Fiji continues

8:03 am on 23 August 2007

Fiji's search for a new supervisor of elections is to go overseas after the Constitutional Offices Commission failed to find a suitable candidate within the country.

The job was advertised twice but only three people applied and one pulled out, with the Commission deciding that the remaining two were not suitably qualified.

The interim attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, says Fiji is committed to having a supervisor of elections in place by September in line with its agreement with the European Union.

He says they will have to ask for assistance from various countries to fill the job and the position may be advertised through the European Union.

Fiji law requires the supervisor of elections to be a qualified layer but most lawyers with sufficient seniority to fill the position would be earning much more in private practice.

Another impediment to local applicants may be that the former supervisor of elections, Semesa Karavaki, has launched a court challenge to his dismissal by the interim government which may also discourage other possible applicants.