Transcript
SURESH CHANDRA: We haven't got together yet, but I have the names of the people and we have some contact but at this moment we are just waiting to gather them around for some reasons that we have the meeting then we can introduce ourselves. Then we can move on from there.
JAMIE TAHANA: What are your immediate priorities for the commission? Because preparations for next year's election are already well underway.
SC: Yes, well the immediate priorities will be to see their experiences that I have in the commission and all these [and the] backgrounds of all those members of the commission and also to see that we have proper standing orders and proper transfers, people's figures are laid down. Which is already provided for in the law, and in the procedures, but we will just have to go through all of that and move on from there.
JT: Yeah, because transparency procedures was one of the issues highlighted by the multinational observer group at the last election, I guess, do you have any idea of what these measures would be?
SC: Well the main thing would be [that] either the commission ensures transparency by maintaining the proper roles of the voters and that the voters are all registered and it's published so the information is given to the public. And then also they can ensure that everybody is at least registered and awareness is created by this commission and also to provide all these reports and these things that come out from the commission to the public, and the parliament and the report goes the president and all is provided with these procedures. So we will make sure that the transparency is maintained and we need to see that the credibly of the process is maintained and that the election procedures are followed.
JT: Have you met with the electoral office or the supervisor of elections yet?
SC: We have spoken to each other a few times. Under the new amendments act the supervisor of elections is the secretary to the commission now, so we are now talking to each other to organise the meeting.
JT: So the supervisor is the secretary to the commission?
SC: Yes, he is.
JT: So what does that role involve?
SC: Well that job will be that he will be present in taking the recordings, or making recordings of the commission, and seeing that all the precedes and transparency and all the decisions which are made are properly recorded and properly presented back to the commission. And following the meetings - things like that...When his own position comes through the commission to be approval then he is excused from the meeting, so yeah, his role will really be a secretarial role.
JT: Ok, so no particular role in decisions making as such? Because that's an issue the last commission had.
SC: No. He will not have any decision making role.
JT: The last commission, as I just mentioned, did have some run-ins with the electoral office with the supervisor that eventually ended up in court - the court of appeal even, what do you see as the relationship here for your commission?
SC: now that is like water under the bridge. It's all done and dusted. We are now looking forward because the supervisor of the elections and the commission must act together to make sure that the credibility process is maintained and the amendments have come through because of that, so the government has rectified the process and now it's moving on. I can't see any difficulties or any acrimony developing between the two offices. So it should be a smooth one from here on.
JT: All well and good that issues have been resolved an that those amendments have been passed, but if an issue does arise - if there is a concern you or the commission has are you prepared to take that through the legal system?
SC: Oh yeah, as i said the secretary or the supervisor of the election has no part in the decision. Then, of course we will be making independent decisions and if that decision needs to be reviewed so that the process of making the decision - if there is any conflict there then it could be resolved, first of all we must make every effort to resolve it, secondly a legal opinion will be obtained and if not, then whatever is not resolved we can go ahead and resolve it.
JT: What are you most looking forward to about this role, what's going to be your biggest challenge?
SC: Well, it's a very important role because we will run the election and we will register political parties, we will register the voters.. I am really very enthusiastic about all this and i must ensure that we have a very credible election in Fiji that is acceptable to of most of the people so that is my goal and I think in the democratic process is that every fijian must participate in the election, that is my objective.
