Nirvasha Kumar
Dialogue Fiji (DF) conducted the 10th Community Education Workshop (CEW) on Electoral processes and Systems under the DF led project “Building Public Confidence in Elections in Fiji, which is funded by UK AID and is being co-implemented with International IDEA. The workshop was held at the Somosomo Provincial Hall on 13 May 2022.
This workshop sought to increase the understanding of the country’s electoral framework and processes amongst a diverse range of participants that included Turaga-ni-Koro(s) of different communities, academic staffs from schools, along with common people that wished to use this information and disseminate it to their respective communities.
The workshop was facilitated by the Executive Director of Dialogue Fiji, Nilesh Lal, who took participants through various sessions on electoral systems and processes; the history and the development of the Fijian electoral system, the seat allocation methods and implications, which afforded participants opportunities for deliberation.
Divesh Chand, a Secondary school teacher said the workshop served a valuable opportunity for youths like him to learn how Fiji’s electoral system works so that they can make informed decisions come 2022 Fijian elections.
Mere Wai, a fisher-woman said “I would like to thank Dialogue Fiji for organizing this workshop and I really appreciated the delivery and facilitation by Mr Lal, which was simple and gave us the freedom to speak in our mother-tongue that offered a better understanding and discussion of the topic.