STRATEGIC PLAN 2020 – 2023

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 20232

List of Abbreviations

BRIDGE Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections

CSO Civil Society Group

DM Divisional Manager

DSoE Deputy Supervisor of Elections

EC Electoral Commission

EMB Electoral Management Body

EMS Election Management System

EORS ElectionOfficialRecruitmentSystem

ESAG Electoral Security Advisory Group

EVR Electronic Voter Registration

FEEC Fijian Electoral Education Centre

FEO FijianElectionsOffice

FICAC Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption

IFES International Foundations for Electoral Systems

KYE Know Your Election

MIDA Media Industry Development Authority

MOG Multinational Observer Group

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

NCC National Counts Centre

NCL National Candidates List

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NRC National Results Centre

NRV National Register of Voters

PDW Polling Day Worker

PIANZEA PacificIslands,AustraliaandNewZealandElectoralAdministrators

PMS Performance Management System

RMIS Results Management Information System

SPC Strategic Planning Committee

SPCT Strategic Planning Core Team

SoE Supervisor of Elections

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 3

Table of Content

Mission

Vision

Message from the Supervisor of Elections

Introduction

Fijian Electoral System

Guiding Principles

Strategic Pillars

Strategic Goals

SWOT

Overviewofthefirst5yearStrategicPlan(2015-2019)

Strategic Planning Process in FEO

Consultations

FijianElectionsOfficeDirectorates

2018GeneralElection

Electoral Calendar

FijianElectionOfficeStakeholders

Monitoring and Implementation Strategy

Risk Analysis and Mitigation for the FEO’s Strategic Plan

Milestone2020-2023

Conclusion

4

5

6

7

8

10

11

12

14

15

16

19

22

25

31

33

39

40

42

44

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 20234

MISSION

Our mission as Fiji’s election management body is to implement internationally recognized election best practises in

accordance with the law, effectively regulate political parties and efficiently register

eligible Fijians to ensure thatwe deliver the highest quality of election

services under the supervision of The Electoral Commission.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 5

VISION

Our vision is to be recognised as a professional institution that conducts fair and credible Elections broadly representing the

will of the Fijian people.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 20236

Bula Vinaka,

WelcometotheFijianElectionsOffice2020-2023StrategicPlan.

The2020-2023StrategicPlanfollowsonfromthesuccessof2015-2019StrategicPlan. As the head of the organisation, I have found that such a structuredplanning approach is instrumental in building a sustainable, structurally stable anddynamicorganisation.

Since its formation in 2014, the FEO, while conducting its core business asrequired by law, has actively worked on developing modern and advanced humanresourcemanagementframework,assetandfinanceframeworkaswellasahighlysuccessfulpublicrelationsframework.Duringthiscycle,theFEOneededtobuilditsowncapacityandthiswasdonewithhighdegreeofsuccess.

In many facets, the FEO has had to establish itself into an already existing spectrum and this challenge has not onlymotivatedthemanagementandtheteambuthasbeenakeydriverofinnovationattheoffice.

The second Strategic Plan is aimed at driving sustainability and building of capacity of secondary stakeholder institutionsintheelectoralenvironment.TheFEOisalsointendingtomobilisemobile-basedsolutionsforthemonitoringandhandlingofvariousprocessesintheoperationaldeliveryofelections.

Emphasis will be placed in developing election education materials at various levels and promoting research intoelectionspecificissues.TheFEOwillintroducenewerdesignoftheVoterCardandexpirethefirstVoterCardthatwasinissuefrom2012to2017.Cooperationwithbusinessandfinancialinstitutionswillbeboostedthroughopportunitiestopromotevoterparticipation.

The2018GeneralElectionallowed theFEO tofirmuponseveralelectoralprocesses thatuntil 2018,weremostlytheoretical.ThisallowstheFEOtostabilizeitselectionplanningnowthatitisawareofthe‘knowns’andatthesametimeprepareforthe‘unknowns’.The2018GeneralElectionReports,theinternalFEOreviewsandarangeofinternationalexperienceswillformthebasisfortheplanninganddeliveryofthenextgeneralelection.

Lastly, quite sadly, engineered distrust and deliberate misinformation is a tool used by some in the Fijian politicalscene.ThatiswhytheFEOhasadaptedtheaccountingterm‘verifiability’toapplytoelectionsinFijiasastandard.

I wish to acknowledge the hard work put in by the Directors, their teams and the technical consultants at the FEOsupportedbyinternationalpartners.Ialsowishtoconveyaspecialthankstoallthespeakersatthemiddayseminarseries,whichformedpartofFEO’sconsultations.

IpraytotheAlmightyforthecontinuedsuccessoftheFEOandthisStrategicPlan.

VinakaVakalevu.

Message from the Supervisor of Elections

Mohammed SaneemSupervisor of Elections

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 7

Introduction

Fijian Elections OfficeTheFijianElectionsOffice[‘FEO’] is an independent election management body responsible for the conduct ofGeneralElectionsandotherelectionsinaccordancewiththelegalframework.UndertheElectoralAct,2014[‘Electoral Act’],theFEOistheOfficeoftheSupervisorofElections[‘SoE’]andissituatedat59-63HighStreet,Toorak,Suva.TheFEOhas76corestaffandemploysup-to1500short-termstaffduringelectionsperiod.

Aspersection6(2)oftheElectoralAct,theSoEhascompleteindependencetodeterminethecompositionofthe FEO including the authority to determine the remuneration, the terms and conditions of employment and therecruitmentprocedureaswellasthedisciplinaryprocessestodealwithstaffattheFEO.

Under Section 6 of the Electoral Act, the SoE as head of the FEO:

• Administers the registration of the political parties; • Administers the registration of voters and maintains the Register of Voters; • Administers the registration of candidates; • Implements voter information and educational initiatives; • Conducts election of Members of Parliament and such other elections as prescribed under section154,includingtheconductofvoting,countingandtabulatingofelectionresults; • Oversee compliance with campaign rules and reporting requirements; and • Performsanyotherfunctionsasconferredbyanyotherwrittenlaw.

TheParliamentthroughtheMinistryofEconomyissuestheFEOwithanannualgrantfromtheNationalBudget.TheFEOStrategicPlanformsthefoundationfortheFEObudgetrequests.ThislongtermplanalsoallowstheMinistrytosupportelectoralactivitiesthroughouttheelectoralcycle.

DonorPartnershavealsoassistedtheFEOintheimplementationofitsmandatethroughfinancialandtechnicalsupport.KeysupportwasprovidedbyAustraliaandNewZealandthroughthecyclewithwidedeploymentofTechnicalAdvisors.TheseAdvisorswereinstrumentalindevelopingthecapacitiesoftheFEOteaminspecialisedelectoralprocesses.Further,IndiaandRepublicofKoreahaveconsistentlyprovidedtrainingsandsupportinkind.

TheFEOhadpreviouslydevelopedafive(5)yearStrategicPlan,whichwasfortheperiod2015to2019.ThepurposeofhavingsuchaStrategicPlanwastogivetheFEOafive(5)yearroadmapintermsofimplementingitsvariousactivitiesinaccordancewithcertaintimelines.Inessence,theseactivitieshadfocusedtowardsthebuild-upofthe2018GeneralElection.

Thistime,theFEOhasdevelopedafour(4)yearStrategicPlanfor2020to2023.ThetermofthisplanhasbeenadjustedtosuittheelectoralcycleinFiji.

Electoral CommissionTheElectoralCommission[‘EC’]isanindependentnon-partisanauthority,whichconsistsofsix(6)CommissionersandaChairpersonallofwhomhavebeenappointedforatermofthree[3]years.

TheSoEisalsotheSecretarytotheEC.HeorsheisrequiredtobepresentinallmeetingsoftheECbutwillbeexcusedintheeventtheECisrequiredtomakearulingoveradecisionmadebyhimorher.

TheresponsibilityoftheECislaidoutinsection75(2)oftheConstitutionoftheRepublicofFijiwhichmainlyincludes the registration of voters and the conduct of free and fair elections in accordance with the written law governingelectionsandanyotherrelevantlaw.

Intheleaduptothe2018GeneralElection,theECworkedcloselywiththeFEOinensuringthatthecountrywasreadytoproceedtothepolls.TheECwasrequiredtomeetandprovideapprovalsonareasthattheyhadauthorityasdefinedinsection3(1)oftheElectoralAct.ThiswascarriedoutsmoothlyandallowedtheFEOtoeffectivelydeliverthe2018GeneralElection.

TheECandtheSoEpublishedajointreportonthe2018GeneralElectionthatwastabledinParliamentandpublishedwidelybytheFEO.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 20238

Fijian Electoral System

FijiusesamodifiedOpenListProportionalSystemtoelectitsmembersofparliament.ThewholecountryformstheConstituencyandvotingisnotcompulsory.Thevotingageis18yearsandregistrationofvotersclosesat6pm on the day the WritfortheGeneralElectionisissuedbythePresident.

Registration process is open throughout the electoral cycle and voters are regularly encouraged by the FEO to updatetheirdetails.TheFEOhasopenedVoterServiceCentres[‘VSC’s’]inmajorcentrestofacilitatetheneed.VariousvoterengagementexercisestakeplaceaswelltoensurethatvotershaveaccesstotheFEOservices.Uponregistration,thevoterreceivesaVoterCard.VoterCardshavebecomeauniversalsourceofIDinFijiandthisinturnpromotesthevotertokeeptheircardssafeanduptodate.

NominationofcandidatestotheelectionistobesubmittedtotheSoE.NominationsareintheformofPartyListsforcandidatesofpoliticalpartieswhileindependentcandidatesnominateindividually.Partiesranktheircandidates in order of preference at the time of nomination, however, the final order of the candidates isdeterminedby the totalnumberof votes they receivedat theelection.Parties canonlynominateasmanycandidatesasthetotalseatsinParliament.

AdayissetasideasElectionDayandisusuallyapublicholiday.Votersareassignedapollingvenueoftheirchoiceatthetimeofregistrationandtheycanonlyvoteattheassignedpollingvenue.Venuesthathavemorethan500votersaredividedintopollingstationssoasnottoexceed500asthemaximumnumberofvotersatanypollingstation.TheFEOconductsvotinginremoteareassuchasthehighlandsandtheislandsintheweekbeforetheweek(inwhichtheelectiondayfalls)theGeneralElectionistotakeplace.PostalvotingisavailabletoanyonewhomaynotbeabletoattendtheirpollingstationonElectionDay.

Allcandidatesattheelectionareallocatedarandomlydrawnthree(3)digitnumber.ThedrawisdonepubliclybytheSoE.Theballotpaperonlyhasnumbersandin-ordertovote,avoterisrequiredtoeithercircleortickorcrossthenumberofthecandidatetheywishtovotefor.TheFEOprovidesvoterswithaVoterInstructionBookletthatcontainsthelistofallthecandidatesandtheirnumbers.

Votingisbyballotandeachvoterreceivesonlyone(1)ballotpaper.Intheeventthevotermakesamistakeontheirballotpaper,theyareentitledtoone(1)replacementballotpaperonly.Votingisfrom7.30amto6pmandvoterscanchoosetoattendatanytimeinbetweentovote.AssistanceisprovidedbyElectionOfficialstoilliterate voters while persons with disability can choose to be assisted by a person of their own choice who must bearegisteredvoter.

After the close of the voting at 6pm on Election Day and after all voters in the queue have voted, the Presiding OfficeratthepollingstationwillinitiatetheCountingprocess.CountingofvotesonElectionDayaredoneatthepollingstationandresultsaretransmitted,firstbyphoneandthenbytheofficialprotocolofresultstotheNationalResultsCentreinSuva.After6pmonElectionDay,thePre-pollandthePostalvotesarecountedattheNationalCountCentreinSuva.

The FEO publishes election results in real time on Election night through its website and a specially designed resultsapplication formobilephones.The resultson thenightareprovisional innatureand theFEOstopsprovisionalresultannouncementat7amthedayaftertheelection.Thereafter,theFEOcompilesthefinalresultsdirectlyfromtheprotocolofresultsandpublishesit.Oncealltheresultsarereceived,theFEOpreparestheFinalNationalResultsTallyandhandsitovertotheECfortheallocationofseats.TheFinalNationalResultsTallycontainscandidateslistedindescendingorderofvotesbyparty.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 9

SeatallocationisdoneusingtheD’hondtformula.Athresholdof5%ofthetotalnumberofvotescasthastobemetbyanypartyorindependentcandidatebeforetheyqualifyforaseat.Oncetheeliminationprocessbasedonthethresholdiscompleted,theECusesthePartytotaltocalculatehowmanyseatsapartyhasattained.TheEC then refers to the Final National Results Tally and awards seats to the highest ranking candidates, the seats thathavebeenwonbytheParty.IfanIndependentCandidatehadmetthethreshold,theywinone(1)seat.

The EC returns the Writ to the President with the names of the Candidates that have been awarded the seat basedontheabove.DuringthetermofParliament,shouldaseatbecomevacant,theCandidatewhoisnextintheFinalNationalResultsTallyforthesamepartywilltakeupthevacantseat.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202310

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Right to voteEvery citizen over the age of 18 years has the right to vote by secret ballot

One person, One vote, One valueEvery voter has one vote, with each vote being of equal value

A credible single National Register of VotersEvery registered voter shall be listed on a single National Register of Voters

Independence, Impartiality and Neutrality The Fijian Elections Office is an independent body and shows no preference in

either speech or action for any individual candidate or political party

Excellence in Service DeliveryProvide highest quality of electoral services to all Fijians in a professional, effective

and timely manner

Good GovernanceThe Fijian Elections Office values accountability, honesty, integrity and transparency in all its transactions and will ensure that all legislative disclosures are properly and

adequately done

ParticipationEmpowering every Fijian to take ownership of the election through active

involvement

InnovationStrive towards continuous, innovative and practical solutions to contribute towards

the evolution of electoral practices in Fiji

VerifiabilityIn elections, to mechanise Fijian Elections Office processes so that given the same

data and assumption, an independent and impartial Observer can produce the same results

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 11

Strategic Pillars

PILLARS

Legal Framework

Institutional and Human

Capacity

Election Operations

Electoral Participation

Technology

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202312

Strategic Goals

Upholding the legal framework in delivering the elections

Strengthening the FEO’s institutional and human capacity

Delivering election operations based on thorough planning and research

Strengthening electoral participationthrough effective outreach and engagement programs

Adapting the most latest and current technologiestoenhancetheefficiencyofthe delivery of FEO objectives

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 13

Pillar 1 – Legal Framework Goal-Upholding the legal framework in delivering the elections 1. EnsureFEOStandardOperatingProcedurescomplywiththelaw. 2. ProviderelevantadvicetoandobtaindirectivesfromtheEC. 3. Administerpoliticalpartiesinaccordancewiththelaw. 4. StreamlinethenominationprocessforCandidatesintheGeneralElection. 5. ImplementaneffectivemechanismtoadjudicatecomplaintsfortheFEO.

Pillar 2 – Institutional and Human Capacity Goal-Strengthening the FEO’s institutional and human capacity 1. Implementexcellenceinleadership. 2. PioneerresearchinareasofinteresttotheFEO. 3. EnhancetheHumanResourcesFrameworkoftheFEO. 4. AneffectiveProcurementProgramthatensuresgoodsandservicesareacquiredinatimely andfinanciallyprudentmanner. 5. ProvidingmanagementwithaccurateandtimelyadvicetoensureFEOoperatesitsfinances withefficacyinahighlyrobustenvironment. 6. AsystemizedAssetandInfrastructureManagementProgramthatbolstersFEO’soperations. 7. Establishastatisticsplatformforeffectiveplanninganddecisionmaking. 8. Effectivedeliveryofelectoralservices.

Pillar 3 – Election Operations Goal-Delivering election operations based on thorough planning and research 1. FormulateacomprehensiveGeneralElectionPlananddeliverthe2022/23GeneralElection. 2. Implementrecommendationsofthe2018GeneralElectionReview. 3. Preparethe2021FijiNationalPollingVenueDirectory. 4. ImplementacomprehensiveVoterRegistrationProgram. 5. ConductanindependentauditoftheNationalRegisterofVoters. 6. Conductelectionsaspersection154oftheElectoralAct. 7. Enhancecollaborationwithstakeholderstoimprovethedeliveryofelections.

Pillar 4 – Electoral Participation Goal-Strengthening electoral participation through effective outreach and engagement programs 1. Introducenationalprogramsthatencouragesvoterinvolvementintheelectoralprocesses. 2. Establishstrategiccollaborationwithyouthgroups,CSO’s,NGO’s,faithbasedgroups andinformalgroupsinpromotingelectoralparticipation. 3. Initiatingcapacitybuildingofpoliticalpartiesandinterestedindividuals. 4. Exploringopportunitiestointroduceelectoraleducation. 5. EstablishFEOasthecentreofelectioninformation. 6. DevelopCommunicationsStrategyfortheFEO.

Pillar 5 - Technology Goal- Adapting the most latest and current technologies to enhance the efficiency of the delivery of FEO objectives 1. Preparecomprehensivepolicies,proceduresanduserguidesforthetechnologiesavailableatFEO. 2. Establishamodernintranetsolution. 3. ImproveandenhanceexistingtechnologicalsolutionsattheFEO. 4. TestandcertifysoftwareusedattheFEOthroughindependentaudit. 5. ScopeandreorganisetheHumanResourcesmanagingInformationTechnology.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202314

S W

T

STRENGTHS1. Experienceofrunning2014and2018

General Elections based on the current legalframework.

2. Institutionalknowledgeandcapacity.3. Implementation of electoral curriculum

insecondaryschools.4. Openmeritrecruitmentsystem.5. Continuing interests in Donors to build

capacityoftheFEO.6. EffectivecollaborationwithotherEMBs.7. Proper Quality Assurance mechanisms

inplace.8. Conducting election simulations and

mockexercises.9. Membership with International

ElectoralBodies.10. Fully operational international

standardwarehouse.11. Effective operational planning

experience.12. Cyclebasedplanning.

WEAKNESSES1. Limitedspecialisedelectoralvendors.2. Seasonal(electiontimeonly),short

term employment for high intensity workload.

3. The mere enormity of the exercise creates scenarios that require spontaneous decisions and reactive planning.

4. Limited career progression due to specializationsector.

5. Lack of specialised training providers forelections.

6. Expiry of lifespan of electoral items in betweenelections.

7. Inadequateofficespace.

OPPORTUNITIES1. Enhancement of the EMS and

other IT systems to improve output, reliabilityanduserexperience.

2. Consider the environmental impacts of elections with a view to make elections environmentallyfriendly.

3. E-training.4. OnlinerecruitmentsystemforFEO.5. KnowledgesharingwithotherEMBs.6. Developspecifictrainingsforvarious

aspects of elections for FEO Staff as well asstakeholders.

7. Election curriculum in University and PrimarySchool.

8. Custommadevoterregistrationdatabase.9. Establish terms of engagement with Civil

Society Organisations and Advocacy Groups.

10. Strengthen FEO capacity through engagement with professional skills institutions.

THREATS1. Spread of Misinformation

andDisinformation.2. Failure on the part of stakeholders

tounderstandthelegalframework.3. Lack of powers in the law for

administrative instructions to prevent/injunctbreaches/potentialbreaches.

4. Force Majeure events affecting electoralprocess.

5. Cyberattacksandsabotage.6. Untimely failure of IT hardware

resources.7. Unbalanced media coverage of

politicalpartyevents.8. Unregulated debate practices at

campaigntime.9. Failureofelectoralofficialstofollow

standardoperatingprocedure.10.Electoral Writ period falls within

cycloneseason.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 15

Overview of the first 5 year Strategic Plan (2015-2019)

TheFEOwassuccessfulinimplementingitsfirstStrategicPlan.Thissuccessisevidentinthedeliveryofthe2018GeneralElection.Allactivitiesdevelopedandimplementedfrom2015to2019wereabuilduptodeliveringthemainproject,whichwasthe2018GeneralElection.

In analysing themajormilestones achieved from the years 2015 to 2019, the FEOhas achieved 80%of itsmilestones.Therearesomeactivitiesin2019,whicharecurrently inprogressandiftheyweretobemarkedcompletedwouldincreasethepercentagerate.

Wehavealsoanalysedthecompletionrateannuallyfrom2015to2019whichisprovidedinthetablebelow:

Years Milestones Achieved

2015 86%

2016 83%

2017 100%

2018 93%

2019 42%(ongoing)

OverallAchieved(5years) 80%*

Inthelastfive(5)years,theFEOhadrevieweditselectoralprocessesandproceduresaswellasfinaliseditinpreparationsforthe2018GeneralElection.Aspartofthisreview,theFEOalsoimplementedrecommendationsby theMultinationalObserverGroup [‘MOG’] in their report on the 2014General Election. Therewere 38recommendationsintotalandtheFEOimplemented22ofthoserecommendations.

*the year 2019 is still ongoing and hence the percentile rating does not reflect the outcomes of the 2019 activities, most of which are still ongoing.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202316

Strategic Planning Process in FEO

Overview TheexperienceofdrawingtheFEOStrategicPlan2015-2019allowedtheOrganisationtodesignanextensiveplanforthe2018GeneralElection.TheFEOconsideredlessonslearntfromthetwopreviousGeneralElectionsof2014and2018asabasisfor its longtermplanningandpreparationforthenextGeneralElection. Itwascrucial for the Organisation to conduct an extensive review exercise on the successes and shortcomings of the lastStrategicPlaninordertoidentifythegapsandrecognizetheareaswhichwouldneedimprovements.Thisexercise, together with intensive research and consultations would ensure that a more practical, comprehensive andinclusiveStrategicPlanisdevelopedbytheFEOforthenextfour(4)years.

Preliminary ApproachOn 19 June 2019, the SoE released a press statement outlining FEO’s plans for the nextGeneral ElectionbeginningwiththedevelopmentofitsStrategicPlanfor2020–2023.Thedevelopmentphasecommencedwiththe FEO staff going through a BRIDGE Training on Strategic Planning for EMBs which was facilitated by BRIDGE TrainersfromtheAustralianElectoralCommission,MrBrianLathamandMsJenniferHammond.Thetrainingwasco-facilitatedbytwoseniorstaffoftheFEO,MsAsenacaKolinivalaandMsAnaMataiciwa.

Following the BRIDGE training on Strategic Planning, the FEO saw it necessary to select a Planning Team whowouldbe responsible for the implementationof theplanningprocess.As such, theFEOappointedaPlanningTeamconsistingoftwo(2)separatecommitteestooverseetheplanning,development,compilationandfinalisationof the four (4) year StrategicPlan.AStrategicPlanningCoordinatorwas alsoappointed tocoordinate the activities between the committees and oversee that the development of the Strategic Plan was carriedoutsuccessfully.

The Planning Team for the FEO’s Strategic Plan consisted of the following committees:

• Strategic Planning Core Team [‘SPCT’] TheSoEappointedasix(6)memberSPCTon21June2019.TheSPCTreportedtotheSoE and was responsible for developing the overall strategic direction of the FEO by devising a Master Plan on how the Strategic Plan of the Organisation would be developed and implemented.TheSPCTmonitoredtheworkprogressoftheStrategicPlanningCommittee and ensured that the Master Plan was carried out correctly in accordance with the agreed timelines.TheSPCTwasalsoresponsibleforcarryingoutconsultationswithexternalstakeholders andfinalisingthewriteupoftheStrategicPlandocument.

• Strategic Planning Committee [‘SPC’] TheSoEappointedafive(5)memberSPCon21June2019toimplementandinitiatethe MasterPlangivenbytheSPCTtostaffofFEO.Theywereresponsibleforcollecting, analysing and collating the various activities and tasks required for the Strategic Plan through properconsultationwithinternalstakeholders.Theyalsopreparedoutputrecommendations fortheSPCT.Further,theyensuredthatreviewsandoutcomesoftheMasterPlanprogress reportsgivenbytheSPCTwerefollowedthroughwiththeFEOstaff.

Planning StrategyInlinewithinternationalbestpracticesandgovernanceforElectoralManagementBodies[‘EMBs’], the FEO decided to use as a planning reference the Strategic Planning process methodology outlined by international electoral expert, Antonio Spinelli in the IFES publication “A Practical Guide for Election Management Bodies to Conduct a Strategic Planning Exercise”andappliedittotheFijiancontext.

TheFEOinitsStrategicPlanningexercisedecidedtoadoptafour(4)yearStrategicPlanningcycletocoincidewithFiji’selectoralcycle.ThiswouldguaranteethattheplanningforthenextGeneralElection,particularlyonelectoral operations are executed successfully, in a timely manner and are conducted in accordance with the legalframework.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 17

During the preliminary discussions between the FEO Executive Management Team and the SPCT, a few guidelines were established to guide the Organisation in achieving its mandate and sole purpose which is to conductasuccessfulGeneralElection in2022orearly2023.Theseguidelines laytheframeworkofthenewStrategicPlan.

From these guidelines, and experience of the previous Strategic Plan, the SPCT agreed that the Strategic Plan wouldonlycompriseofthekeystrategiestheFEOwouldliketoengageinduringthenextfour(4)years.Amoredetailed Annual Plan which would dictate how these strategies are achieved would stem out of the Strategic Plan.ThischangeinapproachwouldalsohighlightthematurityoftheOrganisationsincedevelopingitsfirstStrategicPlanin2015.

TheSPCTagreed that theannual reviewandplanningcycle for theStrategicPlanwillbe fromJuly-Julyofeveryyear.ThiswouldallowtheFEOtostrategicallyassesstheprogressoftheactivitiesforeachcalendaryearmidwayandatthesametimepreparethebudgetforthesubsequentcalendaryear.

The SPCT also approached the planning exercise by deciding that the FEO would use cross cutting themes (multi-Directorate) indeveloping its Foundationdocument and strategicgoals, thusmovingaway from theinitialmethod(Directoratespecific)usedin2015.

Developing the Strategic PlanTheStrategicPlanwouldbefinalisedintwo(2)phases.FirstphasewouldbetheFoundationdocument,whichwouldincludetheVisionandMissionstatements,GuidingPrinciplesandtheStrategicPillars.ThelatterwouldbethefinalisationofStrategicGoals,ObjectivesandtheActivities.

Foundation documentDefiningFEO’sstrategicfoundationfortheStrategicPlanisimportantfortheOrganisations’continuation.ItwasthereforenecessarythattheFoundationdocumentoftheFEOproperlyreflectedtheimageandaspirationstheOrganisationwouldstrivetoachieveinthenextelectoralcycle.

In developing this very important aspect of the Strategic Plan, multiple workshops on the development of the FoundationdocumentwereconductedfortheFEOstaffbytheSPC.TheSPCThadthemaintaskoffinalizingand submitting the document for review by the SoE and endorsement by the EC, before the development of phasetwo(2)occurred.

Strategic Planning WorkshopsNumerous internal workshops and information sessions were held with the FEO staff to assist them in developing thevariouscomponentsoftheStrategicPlan.Thesewereconductedinaninteractivemannerwhereparticipantswereabletounderstandthevariousconceptstheylearntandapplyittotheirfour(4)yearplans.

The FEO conducted the following workshops for staff:

• SoE’s Workshop on FEO’s 2015-2019 Strategic Plan: 25–26 June 2019 Thisworkshopmainlyfocusedonthereviewofthe2015–2019StrategicPlanactivities. An evaluation was carried out on the activities that were supposed to be implemented includingassessingthemilestoneachievements.Fromthisworkshop,staffwereableto identifywhichactivitieswerenotcompletedanditsreasons.Theworkshopwasfacilitatedby theReviewandComplianceofficer.

• Information session on development of Strategic Foundation document and cross cutting themes: 1 July 2019 ThisworkshopwasheldtodiscussthedevelopmentoftheFoundationdocument.Itenabled staff to understand the importance of the components of the Foundation document as well asitssignificance.Theworkshophelpedstafftogenerateideasaroundwhatcouldbethe possible Foundation document of the Organisation and this is in terms of the Vision, Mission andGuidingPrinciples.ThiswasfacilitatedbyManagerFEECandtheLegalCompliance Coordinator.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202318

• Development of Strategic Goals and Objectives Workshop: 9–11 July 2019 Forthisworkshop,FEOStaffcollectivelylearnthowtodevelopstrategicgoalsandobjectives. Then they were organised into their own Directorates to discuss and come up with their ownsetofgoalsandobjectiveswhichwerethensubmittedtoSPC.Thiswasfacilitatedby ManagerFEECandtheLegalComplianceCoordinator.

• Workshop on Development of Strategic Activities: 23–24 July 2019 In this workshop, FEO staff were trained on how to develop and identify the activities that the Organisationwouldpursueinthenextfour(4)years.Ithelpedthemunderstandtheimportance ofhavingactivitiesaswellasgavethemideasofthecontentoftheactivities.Thiswas facilitatedbyManagerFEEC,LegalComplianceCoordinatorandSoE.

• Strategic Plan Activities Workshop: 2–6 August 2019 The FEO staff were organised into groups, for this workshop, from their respective Directorates andwererequiredtodocumenttheiractivitiesforthenextfour(4)years.Thiswasvery important because these activities outlined what the Organisation was going to be doing in thenextfour(4)years.ThefinalactivitiesfromthedifferentDirectorateswerethensubmitted toSPCforreviewandfinalisation.ThiswasfacilitatedbySoE.

• Risk Management Workshop: 15-16 August 2019 This workshop was held to identify the potential risks the Organisation would encounter in termsofimplementingtheStrategicPlan.Italsofocusedondevelopingthemitigating factorsthatwouldreducetherisks.FEOstaffwereabletounderstandthedifferenttypesof risks and how they could be mitigated through the activities organised by the facilitators of thetraining.ThiswasfacilitatedbyManagerFEEC,LegalComplianceCoordinatorandSoE.

• Awareness Activities Workshop: 22 August 2019 Thisworkshopwasspecificallyheldtoaddresstheissueoflowvoterturnoutinthe2018General Election.FEOstaffwererequiredtoresearchandlookatpracticesofothercountriesin improving voter turnout before developing strategies and activities which would be incorporated in the Strategic Plan with a view of increasing voter participation for Fiji in the nextGeneralElection.ThiswasfacilitatedbySoE.

• Corporate Social Responsibilities Workshop: 28 August 2019 ThisworkshopwasheldtoformulateactivitieswhichwouldenableFEOtofulfillitscorporate socialresponsibilitiesinthenextfour(4)years.ThiswasfacilitatedbytheLegalCompliance Coordinator.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 19

Consultations

To create acceptance, understanding and support for the Strategic Plan, the FEO went into a series of consultation process with its key internal and external stakeholders as it was important to gather their input and feedbackontheproposedPlan.

Upon the completion of the Foundation document, FEO used various platforms to conduct its consultation process.ItwascrucialfortheFEOtogatherawiderangeoffeedbacksandviewsduringtheseconsultationsasitwouldformthebasisofactivitiesinthesecondpartofthedevelopmentphase.

FEOpublisheditsdraftVisionandMissionstatements,GuidingPrinciplesandStrategicPillarson10July2019for comments and consultations from stakeholders on its website, www.feo.org.fj.

• Internal Consultations The FEO embarked on a comprehensive consultation process with its staff at headquarters, aswellasthoseintheDivisionaloffices.Thiswastoensurethatallstaffwereawareofthe foundation elements of the Strategic Plan, as it would form the basis for the development ofstrategicgoals,objectivesandactivities.

• External Consultations The following methods were used for the various consultation sessions:

1. Allstakeholdersincludingvoterswererequestedtoparticipateinanonlinesurveyon the proposed Foundation document and this was available on the FEO’s facebook page,FijianElectionsOfficeandwebsiteonwww.feo.org.fj. 2. Directconsultationswereheldwiththepublicthroughtheconductofindividual interviewsatthethree(3)VSCslocatedinSuva,LautokaandLabasa. 3. PowerPointpresentationsontheproposedFoundationdocumentwereconducted for the Political Parties, Diplomatic Community, Media and Government Agencies from 09to15July2019.Thesestakeholdersweregiventhelinktotheonlinesurveyandwere encouragedtogivetheirfeedbacksontheproposeddocument.

• Mid-Day Information Sessions The FEO also invited various prominent people from other organisations to share with FEO their expectation as well as proposed initiatives that could be considered in the formulation oftheStrategicPlan.Atotalof22prominentpeoplefromreputableorganisationspresented inthesemid-daysessions.FEOstaffwerealsorequiredtonoteimportantpointsthatcould bereflectedintheStrategicPlan.

NO. Date Presentation to Stakeholders

1. Tuesday,09July Director Corporate Services presentation to the Political Parties

2. Wednesday,10July SoE presentation to the Media

3. Thursday,11July Director Corporate Services presentation to the Diplomatic Community

4. Thursday,12July Director Corporate Services presentation to Government Agencies

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202320

NO. Date Name Designation Organisation

1. Tuesday,16July LateMs.LoataVakacegu

Deputy Secretary Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development

2. Wednesday,17July Mr.RashmiAslam Acting Deputy Commissioner

Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption

3. Thursday,18July Mr.KemueliNaiqama

Deputy Government Statistician

Fiji Bureau of Statistics

4. Friday,19July Ms.AnneDunn Commissioner Online Safety Commission

5. Friday,19July Ms.SenikavikaJiuta General Manager Operations

Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission

6. Tuesday,23July Mr.SandeepChauhan

Director Star Printery Limited

7. Tuesday,23July Ms.MeizyanneHicks

Director Fiji Geospatial Council

8. Wednesday,24July Ms.AlisonBurchell Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education HeritageandArts

9. Thursday,25July Mr.SanjeevaPerera Permanent Secretary MinistryofHousingandCommunity Development

10. Friday,26July Mr.JosuaNamoce Manager Research and Policy Analyst

Parliament of the Republic of Fiji

11. Tuesday,30July Mr.ShahinAli Acting Director Legal Aid Commission

12. Wednesday,31July Mr.NouzabFareed ChiefExecutiveOfficer FijianHoldingsLimited

13. Friday,02 August Mr.VijayNarayan Communications Fiji Limited News Director

Communications Fiji Limited

14. Wednesday,07August

Ms.KarishmaKumar Executive Director Aspire Network

15. Thursday,08August Mr.GarethBaber Fiji Airways Sevens Coach

Fiji Rugby Union

16. Monday,12August Ms.NaliniSingh Executive Director Fiji Women’s Rights Movement

17. Tuesday,13August Mr.RavineshKrishna Vice President FijiHumanResourcesInstitute

18. Thursday,15August Ms.KrishneetaReddy

Manager Advertising Fiji Sun

19. Friday,16August Mr.EpeliLesuma Stakeholder EngagementOfficer

FijiHigherEducationCommission

20. Monday,19August Ms.TupouDraunidalo

Party Leader HOPE(PoliticalParty)

21. Friday,23August Ms.SusanGrey Executive Director FemLINKPacific

22. Tuesday,01October Mr Nilesh Lal Executive Director Dialogue Fiji

The following is the list of invited speakers during the consultation process;

*The FEO invited all political parties; however, only HOPE attended the mid-day information session.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 21

Formulation of the Strategic Goals, Objectives and ActivitiesTheSPCTdiscussedthedraftstrategicgoalsandobjectives ingreatdetailandagreedonfive (5)StrategicGoals,31Objectivesand227ActivitiesfortheFEO.SincetheconceptofcrosscuttingthemesformedthebasisoftheFoundationdocument,itwasprudentthatthethree(3)DirectoratesoftheFEOliaisedwitheachotherinordertoensurethatvariousimportantactivitieswerereflectedinthisStrategicPlan.

Further, during the process that followed, the FEO staff developed well thought out activities and assigned individualresponsibilitiesandtimelinesaspartoftheimplementationplan.TheseactivitiesandtimelineswerethoroughlycheckedandvettedbytheSPCandSPCTbeforeitsinclusionintothedraftStrategicPlan.

The draft Strategic Plan was reviewed by a Review Team set up by the SoE to ensure that the operational timelineswereworkable.Thisoccurredduringacoolingoffperiod.Thisperiodwassetasideforstafftotakeabreak from the planning sessions and allow the Finance Department to calculate the costings of the Strategic Planinitsentirety.

Followingthecoolingoffperiod,finalchangesweremadetothedraftStrategicPlanbeforethedocumentwassubmittedtotheSoEforhisfinalapproval.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202322

Supervisor of Elections

Executive Directorate

Operations Directorate

Chief Technological Officer

Corporate Services Directorate

Fijian Elections Office Directorates

FEO Organisation StructureThe SoE during the election period is assisted by aDeputy Supervisor of Elections [‘DSoE’] and three (3)Directorsi.e.DirectorCorporateServices,DirectorOperationsandChiefTechnologicalOfficer.

A graphical overview of the core structure of the FEO is illustrated below:

TheExecutiveDirectorateissupervisedbytheSoE.ThisunitcomprisesofSecretariat,InternalAudit,InternationalRelations,LegalandCompliance,DesignandSpecialProjectsandCommunications.ThisDirectoratesupportstheSoEtomanageandensurethatallfunctionsoftheFEOarecarriedout.

The Operations Directorate includes the Operations and the Industrial Elections department, as well as, the four(4)DivisionalManagers.TheOperationsDirectorate’scoreresponsibilitiesincludethemaintainingofanaccurate and current register of voters, assigning of polling venues, awareness activities, postal, Pre-poll and managementofresults.

The Information and Technology Directorate has been created under this Strategic Plan and is responsible for theoverallITinfrastructure,networking,softwaredevelopmentandprovidingITsupportservices.Inparticular,toensure that thecoresystemssuchasElectronicVoterRegistration [‘EVR’], Election Management System [‘EMS’] and the ElectionOfficial Recruitment System [‘EORS’] are operating efficiently and effectively. ThisDirectorate will oversee the development and deployment of new customised software systems at the FEO over thedurationofthisStrategicPlan.

The Corporate Services Directorate includes four (4) Departments: Procurement and AssetsManagement,HumanResourcesandTraining,FinanceandAdministrationandBallotPaperDesignandProductionDivision.This Directorate’s core responsibilities are the implementation of corporate governance within the legal framework, to recruit, train and retain skilled staff, ensure sustainable management of resources and to exercise prudentfinancialmanagement.

DuringaGeneralElection,numberofstaffincreasestosome1,600FEOshorttermstaffplusabout11,000ElectionOfficialsonElectionDay.DuringanelectiontheFEOnormallyestablishesafieldstructurewith22FEOAreaofficeswhichareopenedsomefive(5)monthsbeforeanelectionand101Hubswhichareopenedone(1)weekbeforeelectionandbothareclosedagainafteranelection.

TheElectionOfficialsRecruitmentandallelectionrelatedtrainingwillbedecentralisedtotheDivisionaloffices,whichwillbemanagedbyCorporateOfficersunderthesupervisionofDivisionalManagers.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 23

FEO Human Resources PrinciplesThestructureoftheFEOhasbeendevelopedinaccordancewithsection6oftheElectoralAct.TheunderpinningprinciplesfortheHumanResourceManagementstrategiesandactivitiesoftheFEOare:

• Merit based recruitment and selection-focused on selecting high performing, honest employees with high standards of integrity; • Equal employment opportunity; • Positionbasedremunerationandbenefits; • Transparency and accountability in decision making; • Fairnessandequalityinallstaffingdecisions;and • Commitment to training and staff development in a variety of activities to enable all staff to reachtheirfullcapacity.

The FEO will ensure that all policies and procedures are consistent with these principles and is committed to creatingandmaintainingahighperformingorganisation.

Performance Management System [‘PMS’]The FEO has developed a strategy for performance management which aims at establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and their own skills,behaviourandcontributionsandcommittolearningfromexperience.

TheFEO’sPerformanceManagementispartofandfeedsintotheStrategicPlanningbydefiningexpectationsandkeyperformanceindicatorsexpressedasobjectivesinstrategicandoperationalplans.Measurementofprogressandon-goingfeedbackarecoreelementsoftheFEO’sPerformanceManagementstrategy.PerformanceManagementappliestoallemployees,notjustthemanagers,andtoteamsasmuchastoindividuals.

ThePMSisacontinuousprocessandreviewedperiodically,notaone-offevent.ThePerformanceManagementis based on the continuous assessment of the Strategic Plan on a quarterly basis and it is measured on the completionoftheindividualactivitiesundereachprojects.

TheFEO’sPMSincludesProbationAppraisalandOngoingPerformanceAppraisal.Theprobationappraisalislinkedwithdeterminingthestatusfortheconfirmationofemployment.Allemployeesonacontractofservicewhichexceedsone(1)montharerequiredtoserveaperiodofprobation.

Theongoingperformanceappraisalislinkedwithsalaryappraisal.Forinstance,anemployeewhoseperformancemanagement indicatesratingof“Excellence”or“VeryGood”areeligible forone (1)stepsalary increment,whilst employees with rating as “Requires Development” will have training needs assessment completed and a programdevelopedinordertoimprovetheoverallperformanceoftheindividual.

Fijian Electoral Education Centre [‘FEEC’]Followingthecompletionofthe2014GeneralElection,theFEOin itspost-electionperiodworkedtowardsstrengthening its training capacity. It decided to give high priority to training and education for capacitybuilding.Accordingly,in2015,theFEECwasestablished.ItspurposewastoenhancetheknowledgeandskillsofFEOstaffandstakeholdersthroughtrainingandcapacitybuilding.

The objectives of FEEC was to:

• Establish the FEEC to offer both internal and external training on elections; • Ascertain the training needs of FEO staff; • Provide capacity building programs for the FEO staff; • Deliver electoral training programs to the relevant stakeholders; • Review and develop operational training programs for the conduct of elections; and • GainaccreditationfortheestablishmentoftheFEEC.

Unfortunately,afterareviewwascarriedoutforitsactivitiesfromtheperiod2015to2019,itwasestablishedthatFEECwasnotabletofullyachieveitsobjectivesfortheverypurposeitwasestablishedfor.Itwasnotedthatcertaintrainingswerenotconductednoranycontentmaterialsdevelopedforthesetrainings.Hence,inAugust2019FEECwascloseddownastheinvestmentsdonewerenotresultinginanytangibleoutcomes.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202324

Training and Development StrategyThe FEO will introduce ongoing organisational functions and knowledge trainings that will require all staff to attendandundergoassessmentstoensurethatthecapacitylevelswithintheOrganisationincreases.

Traininghelpsboosttheefficiencyofemployeesaswellastheirproductivity. Italsohelpswiththeirmorale,whichcanthenincreaseproductivityandreduceturnover.

The Training and Development Unit will develop training materials and assessment for all trainings conducted atFEO.Theseassessmentcriteriawill:

• Determinethecalibreoftheapplicantsforallspecificprojects; • Improve knowledge and skills; • Obtain full attention of the participants during the training; and • Determiningtheeffectivenessofthetraininginenhancingindividual’sperformance.

In addition, the recruitment of project based staff will be determined through the assessment conducted after theprojectbasedtraining.Partofthistrainingwillincludetestwherebytheintellectualcapacityattainedduringthetrainingwillbeassessed.Thiswillensurethattherightcalibreofapplicantsarerecruitedforspecificprojects.

Decentralisation StrategyDuringthe2018GeneralElection,theDivisionalofficeswereestablished.ThepurposeofopeningDivisionalofficeswastoensurethattheFEOwasaccessibletoitsstakeholdersandcouldeffectivelydeliveritsservicesinpreparationfortheGeneralElection.SubsequenttoopeningofDivisionaloffice,certainaspectsofoperationswasdecentralised.ThisincludestheexecutionofprojectssuchasAwareness,NationwideRegistrationDrive,partialRecruitmentsandTraining.AlsoDivisionalbankaccountswereopened fordisbursementandbettermanagementoffunds.

Inthe2020to2023cycle,thereareplansfordecentralisationtoagreaterextent.IntheDivisionalstructure,more senior level positions will be established to undertake the greater roles and responsibilities that will be delegated.ItisenvisagedthatoperationalprojectssuchasAwareness,VoterInformationBookletDistribution,Voter Registration, Voter Services, Logistics Operations, Polling Venue Assessments, Recruitment of Election OfficialsandTrainingwouldbedelegatedtoDivisionaloffices.Aspartofthedecentralisationstrategytherewouldbedevelopmentofstandardoperatingproceduresfortheseprojectsaswell.

TheDivisionalManagerswillbecomemoreaccountableinthemanagement/administrationofoperationsundertheirrespectivedivisions.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 25

2018 General Election

Timetable of Key Events/Dates

01 October 2018 Writ Issued to the Electoral Commission. Voter Registration closed. Political Party Registration closed. Postal Vote Applications opened.

02 October 2018 Nomination of Candidates opened.

08 October 2018 Display of Provisional Voter List.

13 October 2018 Display of Provisional Voter List concluded.

15 October 2018 Nomination of Candidates closed at 12 noon.

16 October 2018 Withdrawal of Nomination by 12 noon. Objections and Appeals closed by 4pm.

17 October 2018 EC finalised Appeals and Objections decisions. Ballot Paper Production commenced.

18 October 2018 National Candidate’s List Draw.

24 October 2018 Postal Vote Applications closed at 5pm.

26 October 2018 Ballot Paper Production completed.

28 October 2018 Final Voter Lists printed.

05 November 2018 Pre-poll Voting commenced.

07 November 2018 Verification of Postal Ballots commenced.

10 November 2018 Pre-poll Voting concluded.

14 November 2018 Election Day. Provisional Results announced.

17 November 2018 Polling conducted for the 22 adjourned Polling Venues.

18 November 2018 Final National Results Tally handed over to the EC. Seat Allocation announced. EC Returned Writ for the 2018 General Election to the President of Fiji His Excellency, (Retired) Major General Jioji Konrote. 14 December 2018 Report by the SoE pursuant to section 109 of Electoral Act.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202326

Writ for the 2018 General ElectionOn01October2018,thePresidentofFiji,HisExcellency,(Retired)MajorGeneralJiojiKonroteissuedtheWrit forthe2018GeneralElectiontotheChairpersonoftheEC,MrSureshChandra.ThisdayalsomarkedthecloseofVoterandPoliticalPartyRegistrations,aswellas,theopeningofapplicationsforPostalVoting.

Political Parties RegistrationTheSoEisalsotheRegistrarofPoliticalParties.ThePoliticalPartieslegalframeworkmakesitmandatoryforPoliticalPartiesanditsOfficeHolderstofileDeclarationofAssets,LiabilitiesandIncomeforstipulatedperiodswiththeRegistrar.Thereafter,theRegistrarisrequiredtopublishthesedeclarations.

TheFEO’sEMSwhichwasintroducedforthe2018GeneralElectionconsistedoffive(5)modulesincludingthepoliticalpartyregistrationmodule.ThismoduleallowedtheLegalandComplianceteamattheFEOtoverifymembershiplistingssubmittedbythepoliticalpartiesduringregistration.Inlinewiththelegalrequirements,thesystemverifiesthatavoterisnotamemberofmorethanone(1)politicalpartybycomparingnamesandvoternumberstoexistingrecordsinthesystem.Thesystemwasusedtoregisterthree(3)politicalparties:UnityFijiregisteredinJuly2017;HOPEregisteredon10February2018andproposedpartyZionistwhoseapplicationwas rejectedon06December2017.Thissystemreducesdataentryandverificationtimeto four (4)days incomparisontoten(10)daysinthepast.Theregistrationprocesshasbeenmoreefficientandtheprocessingtimeforapplicationshassignificantlyreduced.

Asat 01October2018,eight (8)PoliticalPartieswere registeredwith theFEO.Thesewere:FijiFirst, SocialDemocraticLiberalParty,NationalFederationParty,UnityFiji,HOPE,Fiji LabourParty,FijiUnitedFreedomPartyandPeople’sDemocraticParty.However,thiswasreducedtoseven(7)afterthederegistrationofPeople’sDemocraticPartyon31October2018.

Candidate NominationThenominationsprocess isgovernedbysection26of theElectoralActandtheeligibility requirementsareoutlinedinsection56oftheConstitutionoftheRepublicofFiji.

The Writ of the2018GeneralElectionhadspecified that thenominationsprocesswouldcommenceon02October2018andcloseat12pmon15October2018.Duringtheperiodofnominations, theFEOreceivednominationfromsix(6)registeredpoliticalparties.

TheFEOinensuringthatitscandidatesverificationprocessforthe2018GeneralElectionwerecarriedoutwithintherequiredtimelines,tooktheapproachofsigningMemorandumofUnderstanding[‘MoU’] with its relevant verificationagenciestoensurethatthisprocesswascarriedoutthoroughlywithintherequiredtimelines.AtthecloseofNominations,235candidateswereconfirmedfortheelection.

Voter Registration Facilitation for voter registration serviceshadceasedon4August2014, theWritDay for the2014GeneralElectionand reopened inJune2015.Thiswas toallow theFEO to review its voter registration systemandprocedurespost2014GeneralElection.Theresumptionofvoterregistrationservicesensuredthatvotershadampletimetoregister,correctoramendtheirvoterdetailsbeforethe2018GeneralElection.

Beginningin2017,theFEOconductedseveralnationwidevoterregistrationprogramsinFijiandoverseastoallowalleligibleFijianCitizenstoregister.In2015,theFEOtookuptheinitiativetoconductaFijiwidevoterregistrationdriveatsecondaryschoolsandtertiaryinstitutions.Thisensuredstudentsturning18yearsofagewereregisteredandcapturedintheNationalRegisterofVoters[‘NRV’].Duringthesevoterregistrationsessionsinschools,studentsweretakenthroughavoterawarenesspresentationby theFEOteams.Sincethen, thiseventhasbecomeanannualeventintheFEO’scalendar.

Approximately637,527voterswereregisteredforthe2018GeneralElection.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 27

Voter List Priortotheconductofthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOundertookanextensiveinternalreviewtodeterminetheshortfallsandgapsinthevariouselectoralproceduresusedin2014.

One of the recommendations that came out of this review was the need to enhance and redesign the Voter Lists thatwouldbeusedforpollinginthe2018GeneralElection.ThisresultedintheVoterListsbeingmodifiedtoallowPollingDayWorkerstoeffectivelyandefficientlyidentifyvotersinthepollingstations.

ThelawrequiresthatFEOpublishestheVoterListsforverificationpurposespriortotheconductofanelection.The FEO ensured that the display of Provisional Voter Lists were carried out widely with all sectors of the communitiesinboththeruralandurbanareas.TheFEOuseditsstakeholderswhowerealreadyestablishedinthesecommunitiessuchastheTuraganiKoro’s[‘TNK’]andDistrictAdvisoryCouncillors[‘DAC’] to conduct theseverificationprocesses.ProvisionalVoterListsweremadeavailabletopoliticalpartiesuponpaymentofaprescribedfeeapprovedbytheSoE.

TheFEOalsointroducedthe1500SMSfreetextplatforminearly2018toallowvoterstofindtheirassignedpollingstationandwasavailableforuseonallmobilephonenetworks.Voterswereabletomakeuseofthisservicepriortocastingtheirvoteonpollingday.

TheFEOprintedanddistributedthefinalProvisionalVoterListeight(8)daysafterthecloseofvoterregistration.Afterthefinalisationofvoterregistrationforthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOreopeneditsVSCstofacilitatereplacementofVoterCards.

Ballot Paper Production and ManagementThe printing of Ballot Papers was tendered to a commercial printer and the successful tender organised with the FEOmanagementtoinstilthree(3)securityfeaturesinallBallotPapers.

For the2018GeneralElection, theFEOsaw it fit tohave itsBallotPaperProductionManagerworkat thedesignatedprintingcompanyinordertounderstandthecomplexityofprintingmaterialswithinatightschedule.This experience ensured the Ballot Paper Production Manager was able to properly plan and execute the printingschedulewithoutanyhindrance.

TherewerenoreportsoftamperingorattemptedfraudofBallotPapers.

National Candidates List [‘NCL’]TheNCLcontainingthenameofallcandidateswaspreparedaccordingtosection36oftheElectoralAct.ABallDrawwasheldtoassignnumberstoindividualCandidatesandthenumbersweredrawnforall235PoliticalPartyCandidates.Thenumbersrangedfrom508to743andthenumber‘666’wasexcludedbytheECfromtheseries.

TheNCL showed the Candidate’s number, their name and their photograph. TheNCL was prepared andpublishedintheGazetteandthedailynewspapersthefollowingday,aswellasbroadcastonradioandsocialmedia.CopiesoftheNCLwereprovidedtotheEC,registeredpoliticalpartiesandtheircandidatesaswellascopiesdisplayedatallFEO’sVSCsforpublicviewing.

Voter Education Indeliveringitskeymessagesforthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOusedbothexistingandnewchannelsofcommunications.

The use of these new channels was due largely to the ever-changing landscape of communications and how brandsengagewiththeirtargetaudience.Thishasevolvedovertheyearsfromsimpleradioandnewspaperadvertising to more complex integrated approaches using a range of communications mediums, such as television,digitalpublicationsandsocialmedia.

Inordertocaptureourkeytargetaudience(voters),andtoensurethesuccessfuldeliveryofcriticalinformationrelating to the conduct of elections in Fiji, a multi-media and multi-lingual voter awareness approach was used basedonfive(5)generalthemes:Whentovote;WheretovoteandHowtovote;AllFijiansshouldvote;GeneralreminderforElectionDayandPre-pollvotersandTheIdealvoter.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202328

TheFEO’sVotersAwarenessCampaignforthe2018GeneralElectionwasnamedtheKnowYourElection[‘KYE’] Awarenesscampaign.TheFEOconducted3,870voterawarenesssessionsinFijiwhichstartedfrom15March2018andranthroughouttheelectionperiod.

Election Information BookletTheElectionInformationBooklet[‘EIB’]wasproducedinMarch2018astheprimaryawarenesstool,containingall relevantelectoral information for thevoter.These included instructionsonhowtovote, illustrationsofastandard polling station layout and pictorials, methods of voting, counting process, declaration of results and allocationofseats.TheEIBwastranslatedintoi-Taukei,Hindi,Rotuman,BanabanandChineselanguages.

Accreditation of Polling Agents, Media and International ObserversTheFEOconductedbriefingsand implemented individualCodeofConduct forpollingagents,media,andelectionobservers.Forthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOaccredited77InternationalObserverswhowerepartoftheMOG.Atotalof371MediaPersonnelwereaccreditedrepresenting18MediaAgencies.

Polling Day WorkersPollingDayWorkers [‘PDW’]were recruitedthroughopenmerit-basedtests throughoutFiji.Of the18,555applicationsatotalof14,508weretrainedand10,071wereappointedtoworkfortheFEOduringthePre-pollperiodandonElectionDay.

Forthe2018GeneralElection,astaffingformulawasdevelopedbytheFEOtoindicatethenumberofElectionOfficials required towork inapollingstationonPollingDaybasedon thevoternumbersallocated to thatparticularpollingstation.However,staffallocationforPre-pollvotingdifferedandwasdependentonthemodeoftransportationusedbytheteams.

TheFEOpreparedvariousOperationalManualsandTaskSheetsasaguidingtoolforitsstaff.Thesemanualswereusedtodevelopcomprehensivetrainerguides,whichwereusedbytrainersduringtrainingsessions.Toavoid dilution of information, the FEO decided against using a cascading training approach and instead trained apoolof80nationalrovingtrainerswhowouldconductthevariousoperationaltrainingsoveraperiodoften(10)months.

While waiting for the Writtobeissued,theFEOconductedrefreshertrainingsforitsElectionOfficialsbetweenthemonthsofJulyandAugust2018.OncetheWritforthe2018GeneralElectionwasissued,theFEOconductedrefresher trainings forPresidingOfficersandAssistantPresidingOfficers.A totalof3,240PresidingOfficersattendedthisfulldaytrainingwhichplacedemphasisontheprocessestobefollowedonPollingDay.

Postal VotingPostal Voting provided an opportunity for overseas voters and those who could not attend a Polling Station on ElectionDay,tocasttheirvote.AllvotersthatwantedtovotethroughpostalvotingwererequiredtoapplyoncethedateoftheGeneralElectionwasannounced.

When applications were received by the FEO, they were checked for completeness before being data entered intotheEMSwhichhadamodulespecificallycreatedtomanagepostalvotingapplicationsforthe2018GeneralElection.

Thereweretwo(2)postalcouriercompaniesengagedforthedeliveryofpostalvotingpackagestooverseasandlocalvoters.IncaseswhereEMScouriercouldnotdelivertolocaladdresses,FEOmadethesedeliveriesitself.Over90%ofthe11,227postalvotespackagessentoutwerereceivedbyFEOontimeforverificationbeforebeingadmittedtocount.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 29

Pre-poll VotingThevenuesforPre-pollwereidentifiedusingthecriteriaoutlinedintheElectoralActandincorporatedintoscheduleswasgazettedon17October2018.Pre-pollwasscheduledbetween05to10November2018.Theschedulestookintoaccountfactorssuchaslowvoternumbersandremotenessofthelocations.Themilitarybases,navalbasesandcorrectionsfacilitieswerealsounderPre-poll.

For the2018GeneralElection,gazebo like tentswereusedaspollingvenues replacingprivate residences.TheselightweightstructureswereeasilyerectedandcarriedaroundbythePre-pollteams.

TheFEOdevelopedaPresidingOfficersPre-pollJournal foreachPre-pollteam.Thesecustomisedjournalswere developed to outline the activities and programs the teams needed to adhere to during the Pre-poll votingperiod.

In the majority of cases Pre-poll schedules were adhered to as planned, however, in some cases there were amendmentsmadetotheschedulesduetounforeseencircumstances(e.g.weather,tides,etc.).Whereitwasnecessarytoreschedulepolling,approvalwassoughtfromtheECandchangesweremadeaccordingly.

Election Day and Counting Pollingtookplaceon14November2018.MajorityofthePollingStationsbeganoperationat7.30amandclosedat6.00pmtobegincounting.PollingAgentsandInternationalObserverswerepermittedintoPollingStations.TheFEOensuredthatmaximumnumberofvotersatanyPollingStationwas500.VoterswereassignedtoaPollingStationclosesttotheirresidentialaddress.

AllvotescastonElectionDaywerecountedattheir respectivePollingStations.Theresults fromtheCountweretransmittedbyPresidingOfficerstoatollfreededicatednumberattheNationalResultsCentre.CountforpostalandPre-pollvoteswereconductedattheNationalCountCentre.

Due to the adverse weather conditions on Election Day, the SoE, in consultation with the EC, had to adjourn pollingfor22PollingVenueswith25PollingStationsaroundthecountry.Thiswasadjournedto17November2018.

National Results Centre [‘NRC’] and Results Management Information System [‘RMiS’]The NRC was activated on Election night to receive “phoned in results” from the Election Day Polling Stations and postal/Pre-poll results from theNRCwhichwas also the venuewhere FinalNational Results Tally wastabulated.

The RMiS was the application software used by FEO to capture the data contained in the Protocol of Results formsandconsolidatedtheseresultsintotheNationalResultsTallyforprogressivedisplayofresults.TheRMiSwasbasedonadoubleblindentryofresultsandusedtwo(2)modes;aprovisionalfortheprovisionalresultsreceivedbyphone,aswellasanofficialmodefortheofficialresultsfromthereceivedofficialProtocolofResults.RMiSalsoprovidedtheconsolidatedresultstotheSoEandtheECtopreparetheFinalNationalResultsTally.

Command Centre OperationsToensure that it is in linewith its five (5) year Strategic Plan 2015–2019, the FEOacknowledged the needto establish a unit thatmonitors FEO’s electionprojects at theDivisional level. TheCommandCentrewasestablished to monitor the following election related activities:

• Divisional Monitoring Process; • Information Request Process; • Call Centre Process; • Incident Management Process; • Change Management Process; and • MediaandWeatherMonitoringProcess.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202330

Atotalof86dailyDivisionalprogressreportsweresubmittedtotheSoEasExecutiveSummaryReportsfrom01October2018toAnnouncementoftheFinalNationalResultsTally.ThereportsnotonlyincludedsituationupdatesfromtheDivisionalofficesandAreaofficesbutalsoprogressivereportsfromtheprojectownerstohighlight the status of their individual projects and to identify any setbacks that can hinder the Election Day preparation.Thereportsfurtherincludedmediaandweatherupdates.TheDivisionaldailyreportswerealsocompiledandsubmittedweeklytotheECinformingthemofupdatesgatheredfromtheteaminthefour(4)Divisions.

Elections Management SystemTheEMSwas the application usedby FEO to capture and validate operational data for the 2018GeneralElection. It consists of five (5) modules, which are Polling Venue, Logistics, Postal, Party Registration andCandidateNominations.

TheEMShastwo(2)modes,theTestingModethatwasalsousedfortrainingandtheProductionMode,whichwaswherethelivedatawasusedbytheOperationsDirectorate.Thesystemcanbeaccessedbasedonroleandforsomemodulesbydivision.Thisistoensuredemarcationofroleandalsodataresponsibilitybylocation.

Geographical Information System [‘GIS’]TheestablishmentfortheGISUnitin2016provedtobeasuccessfulventurefortheFEO.Overthepasttwo(2)years, the FEO has developed various maps and datasets which have assisted the various Internal Departments intheirprojects.TheFEOhasalsoshareddatawithotherorganisationssuchastheFijiPoliceForce,FijiNavy,FijiMilitaryForcesandtheNationalDisasterManagementOffice.

FEO Results AppThe FEO Results App was developed to provide voters and the public direct access to the 2018GeneralElectionresults.TheAppwasdevelopedin-housewithoutanyvendorcollaboration.TheAppenableduserstodownloaditontheirmobiledevices(AndroidandIOS)andbeabletoviewresultsinrealtimewithnotificationsonwhen resultswerebeingupdated. TheApp features allowedusers to view results informationbyParty,Candidates andPollingVenues.Users could view thebreakdownof resultsbyCandidates for eachPollingVenue.TheAppalsoprovidedstatisticalinformationoftotalvotesofPoliticalPartiesasapiechartandvoterturnoutasabargraph.

The Multinational Observer Group ReportAttheinvitationoftheFijianGovernment,theMOGforthe2018GeneralElectionwasestablished.ItconstitutedofObserversfromten(10)countries,theMelanesianSpearheadGroupandthePacificIslandForumSecretariat.Thisgroupwasco-ledbyAustralia,IndiaandIndonesia.

Therewere77ObserverswhowerepartoftheMOG,25longtermand52shorttermobservers.TheirbackgroundsincludedTechnicalExperts,ParliamentariansandGovernmentOfficials.TheycommencedoperationsinFijion28September2018andconcludedon21November2018.

MOGissuedapreliminarystatementon16November2018andsubsequentlyissuedacomprehensivereporton21February2019.TheMOGFinalReportacknowledgedmajorimprovementsbyFijiinrelationstoelectionoperationsandprovidedrecommendationsforenhancementofcertainprocessesforfutureelections.

TheMOGconcludedthatthe2018GeneralElectionwastransparent,credibleandtheresultsbroadlyrepresentthewilloftheFijianVoters.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 31

Electoral Calendar

ThefollowingelectoralcalendarhasbeenderivedfromtheConstitutionandtheElectoralAct,2014.Datesfixedbythelegalframeworkhavelittleflexibilityordiscretion.

When Reference What

Atleast3yearsand6monthsafterfirstmeetingof Parliament

C.58(3)

• DissolutionofParliament.• The President may, acting on the advice of the Prime

Minister, dissolve Parliament by proclamation, but only afteralapseof3yearsand6monthsfromthedateofitsfirstmeetingafteraGeneralElectionoftheMembersofParliament.

Within 7 days from the expiry of Parliament or from the proclamation of its dissolution by the President

C.59(2)• Writ for the election of Members of Parliament shall

be issued by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Day of Writ ERV.19 • ClosureofNationalRegisterofVoters.

Atleast30dayspriortoElection Day EA.41(1)

• Identificationofallpollingstationsandpollingvenues.

14daysafterthedateofthe issue of the Writ C.60

• EndofNominationPeriod.• The last day for the receipt of a nomination of a

candidateforelectiontoParliamentis14daysafterthedate of the issue of the Writ.

Maximum30dayspriorto Election Day C.61 • Pollingcommencesnolaterthan30daysafterthelast

dayforthereceiptofnominations.

1dayfollowingendofnomination EA.29(3)

• DisplayofNomination.• Nomination must be displayed and published the day

followingthecloseofnominations.

1day(12:00pm)followingend of nominations EA.28(1)

• WithdrawalofNominations.• Candidates may withdraw their candidacy up until

12:00pmonthedayfollowingcloseofnominations.

1day(4:00pm)followingend of nominations EA.30(3)

• Objectionstonomination.• An objection to a nomination must be delivered to the

ECby4:00pmonthedayfollowingcloseofnominations.

Within3daysuponreceipt of the objection on nominations

EA.30(5)• ECrulingonobjectionandnotificationoftheperson

objecting and the candidate whose nomination is objectedto.

Within 7 days after the close of nominations EA.35(1) • ECtogiveNoticeofPollintheGazetteandmedia

includingcandidatenamesinalphabeticalorder.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202332

Within 7 days after the close of nominations EA.36

• Preparation of a National Candidates List containing the names of all candidates according to candidate numbers.

Within 7 days following end of nominations EA.82(3) • ScheduleofPre-pollpublished.

At least 21 days priorto Election Day EA.68 • CloseofPostalVotingApplications.

48hourspriortoElectionDay and on the Election Day until the close of polling at all polling stations

EA.63(2) • CampaignBlackout.

Election Day C.61• ElectionDay.• Pollingcommencesnolaterthan30daysafterthelast

dayforthereceiptofnominations.

Within24hoursfromreceipt of Polling Station protocol of results

EA.107

• Declaration of results and the names of those candidates who are elected as members of Parliament mustbedonewithin24hoursfromthereceiptoftheoriginalofthefinalprotocolofresultsfrom all polling stations.

Within21days C.66(3)(b) • Election petition addressed to the Court of Disputed Returns.

Within42days(21daysofappeal)

C.66(8)• Ruling bytheCourtofDisputedReturnswithin21days

of the date when the petition or proceeding is brought beforeit.

Within1month EA.109 • SoE Report submittedtotheECandpublished.

Within60daysofCourtdecision EA.130(4) • AnyrepeatpollingorderedbytheCourttotakeplace.

Within3monthsafterthedate of the election EA.14(g) • EC and the SoE submit a joint post-election report to

thePresidentandtheParliament.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 33

Fijian Elections Office Stakeholders

Stakeholders are a person, group or organisation that has interest or collaboration with an organisation, which canaffectorbeaffectedbytheorganisation’sactions,vision,mission,objectivesandpolicies.

Inthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOhaditsgroupofelectoralstakeholdersinthefollowingcategories:

• Fijiancitizens; • Political Parties and Candidates; • Parliament of Fiji; • Government Agencies; • Media; • Advocacy Groups; • Supplies; • International Partners; • Multinational Observer Groups; and • ProfessionalSkillsInstitutions.

Fijian Citizens (Voters)Votersaretheprimarystakeholdersintheelectoralprocess.Inrecognisingthis,theFEOplacesspecialemphasisonvoterregistration,engagementandparticipation.Votersarealsothefinalbeneficiaryoftheelectoralprocess.The FEO also plays the role of protecting the voter, educating the voter and guarding the rights and freedoms of thevoter. In thedeliveryof itsmandate, theFEOguarantees thesecrecyof thevoteandpromotesandprotectsthefreedomofchoice.

TheFEOundertheElectoral (RegistrationofVoters)Act,2012usesEVRtoregistereligiblevoters.TheEVRsystem captures essential personal data of voters such as name, date of birth, residential address, contact and nextofkindetailstogetherwithitsbiometricinformationcapturingfingerprintsandfacialphotographs.

For the 2018General Election, the total registered voterswere 637,527 compared to 591,101 for the 2014GeneralElection.Therewasanincreaseof46,426voterscomparedtothe2014GeneralElection.Fromthetotalregisteredvotersrecorded,femalevotersconstituted49.63%whichwasatotalof316,431votersandmalesat50.37%havingatotalof321,096voters.Itcanbeforecastedthattherewillbeanincreaseinthenumberofregisteredvotersforthe2022/23GeneralElection. TheFEO is inchargeof registration foreligibleFijianVoterswhoare residingabroad.TheseeligibleFijianvoterscangetregisteredandvotethroughpostalvotingduringelectionperiod.Theonlytwo(2)requirementsforregisteringoverseasvotersare,thatanindividualneedstohaveanoriginalFijiCertificateofCitizenshiporavalidFijiPassportforregistration.

Countries which have a larger number of Fijians include New Zealand, Australia, United States of America andUnitedKingdom.OtherregionssuchasAsiaandEuropehavelownumbersofpotentialFijianvoterssoregistrationsarecarriedoutonlyonce.UponformalrequestsfromFijiancommunitiesabroad,Voterregistrationisfacilitated.TheFEOworkscloselywithrespectiveFijiMissionsabroadinreachingouttoFijiansandensuringthattheregistrationdriveiscarriedoutsuccessfully.

InFiji,onceavoterisregistered,theyareissuedwithaVoterCard.TheVoterCard1.0wasintroducedtogetherwiththeBiometricsVoterRegistrationsystemin2012whichcontainedauniquevoternumber,photo,fullname,dateofbirth and residential addressof the voter. Then inApril 2017, theFEOsaw theneed to re-designandupdate theVoterCard1.0 toVoterCard2.0 to include theFEO logoandcontactdetailsaswell as theincorporationofadditionalsecurityfeaturestoavoidcopyingandduplicationofcards.

After the 2018 General Election, FEO further improved the VoterCard 2.0 by including the polling venueinformationwhichbecameVoterCard2.1.Inclusionofthisinformationwasintroducedearlierthisyear(2019)andallowedvoterstobeabletoviewandconfirmtheirpollingvenueasprintedonthecard.Fijihasadistinctivevotingsystemwherebyvotersareregisteredbasedontheirusualplaceofresidence.OnElectionDay,avotercanonlyvoteathisorherdesignatedpollingstationasstatedintheVoterCard.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202334

TheVoterCard1.0willbeexpiringon30June,2020andallvoterswhoareholdingtheVoterCard1.0willneedtoupdatetheirVoterCardto2.1whichhastheirPollingVenuedetailsincluded.

All voter details are kept in a single register of voters called the National Register of Voters. The FEO ismandatedbylaw(ElectoralRegistrationofVoters)Act,2012)toprepareandmaintaintheNRV.Tocomplywiththe legislative requirements, the FEO carries out continuous registration of eligible voters between elections anddoesfrequentdatacleansingtoensurethattheNRVisaccurateanduptodate.

A master Voter List is divided into sub-lists for use at each polling station while a single Voter List is a detailed recordofeverypersonwho is registeredandeligible tovote.Thiscontains informationsuchasvoter’sEVRnumber,name,address,andvoter’sphoto.

When voters present themselves at a polling station, a PDW checks that a voter’s name appears on the Voter List beforeallowingthemtocasttheirBallot.SignaturesontheVoterListaretalliedforthefinalturnoutcalculationforeachpollingstationonElectionDay.TheProvisionalVoterListispublishedforthevoterstoview,correcttheir details and update essential details prior to the Issue of the Writ.

TheFEOusedavarietyofplatformstoengagewithvoters.Theseplatformsweredesignedtotargetvariousareasrangingfromthe‘futurevoters’intheSecondaryandTertiaryschoolsto‘potentialandcurrentvoters’inthewidercommunities.

Aspartofits2015–2019StrategicPlan,theFEOdevelopedaYear10IntroductiontoElectionsCurriculuminpartnershipwiththeMinistryofEducation.AspecificmoduleonElectionswasdevelopedandincorporatedintotheexisting frameworkof theYear10SocialScienceprogram.Thismodule introducedstudents tothevotingprocesseswhileatthesametimepreparesthemfortherolesandresponsibilitiesofbeingaVoter.

Thecurriculumwassuccessfullylaunchedandpilotedinallsecondaryschoolsaroundthecountryinthe2018schoolcalendarandcontinuestobepartoftheYear10SocialSciencecurriculumtodate.

As part of the FEO’s strategy in delivering voter education programs to potential and future voters of the country,theFEOinits2020–2023StrategicPlanisintendingtofurtherintroducethetopicofelectionsintothecurriculumsofPrimaryschoolsandUniversities.

Further, the FEO has continuously conducted school registration drives for all secondary schools throughout Fiji since2015.Thetargetedaudienceforthisexercisearestudentsthathaveturned18yearsoldwhilestillintheirsecondaryschoollevelofeducation.ThishasbecomeanannualeventfortheFEO,whichhasseenenrolmentsofaround6,000to7,000studentsonayearlybasis.

Inclusiveoftheschoolregistrationdriveprogramisa30minutesinformationsessionwhichisconductedforyears11to13students.Thiscategoryofstudentsconsistsofthosewhohaveturned18yearsoldorwillbeturning18yearsoldduringtheschoolyear.Thekeymessagesdeliveredduringthisinformationsessionincluded:

• Who can register to vote; • Howtoregistertovote; • Your responsibility as a voter; and • EligibilityandRequirementsforregistration.

This method has been found to be an effective and convenient way of providing voter awareness to students whilecapturinglargenumbersofnewregistrationsatthesametime.

Inimprovingdisseminationofinformation,theFEOrevampeditswebsitein2017inpreparationforthe2018GeneralElection.Thewebsitehadbeenvastly improvedtoensurethatallofFEO’sstakeholdersarebetterinformedandcaneasilyaccessinformation.Themostsignificantsteptowardsvoterengagementviathewebsitewastheinclusionofdisabilityfriendlyfeatures.Userswithvisualimpairmentscouldincreasethesizeofthefontsorevenenableanautomatedreadoutofthetextonthepage.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 35

TheFEOalsomanagedtwo(2)Facebookaccountsforthe2018Generalelection.ThisplatformallowedtheFEOtoengagedirectlywithvotersandotherstakeholderswhoareusersofthiscommunicationtool.AllFEOfollowers were able to access news updates through live videos of all media events, press conferences and liveCCTVfeedfromFEOfacilitiessuchas itsmainwarehousewhichstores itselectionmaterials.BothFEOFacebookaccountshadafollowingofaround100,000followersduringthe2018GeneralElection.

Fordaytodayvoterservices,theFEOopenedVSCtocaterforvoterregistrationservices.TheFEOusedtheseVSCs tobedistributingpoints for electionmaterials. Variousbrochures andbookletswereplaced in thesecentresforvoterinformationanddistribution.

The FEO also conducted its nationwide Voter Awareness Campaign for the 2018 General Election verythoroughly, targeting all settlements, villages, schools and communities in the rural, urban and peri-urban areas.Theawarenesssessionsweredesignedtobeinteractivewheretheelectionofficialswereabletopresentand explain to voters the various electoral processes and at the same time answer questions or queries that wereposedtothem.Thesesessionswereveryeffectivedrawingfrompositive feedbacksreceivedfromtheparticipants. In addition to the voter awareness campaign, the FEO also organised special programs to register eligible voters andconductawarenesseitherthroughhomevisits,businessvisitsandcommunityengagementprograms.

TheHomevisitsorMobileRegistrationswereconductedupon receivinga formal request fromtheeligiblevoterorbythevoter’srelativesforthosewhoareunabletoaccesstheservicesprovidedatvariousVSCs.Theapplicant provides the details of the voter and the reason for the request which may include physical disability, oldageorillvoters.

During the build up to the General Election, the FEO also orgarnised voter services and voter awareness sessionsforthestaffofvariousorganisationsorcorporatehouses.Staffaregiventheopportunitytoobtainareplacementcard,newregistrationorupdatetheirdetailstoreflectthesameontheNRVListandtoavoidfrustrationsduringpolling.Thisprogramhasbeenasuccessful initiativegiventhelargenumberofrequestsfromthevariousorganisationswherebystafftakefulladvantageoftheservicesprovidedtothem.

The Community engagement programs were developed and implemented to provide voter services and awareness programs to the voters living in remote communities including the voters living in the rural and maritime locations, where the voters do not have access to the services due to the remoteness and inaccessibility oftheareastheylivein.ThisexerciseincludestheNationwideRegistrationDrivesandotherplannedregistrationdriveswhichtargetschools,communities,villagesandsettlements.

Political Parties and Candidates Politicalpartiesandcandidatesplayanintegralroleascontestants.AccordingtothePoliticalParties(Registration,Conduct,FundingandDisclosures)Act,2013politicalpartiesinFijiaretoberegisteredwiththeRegistrarofPoliticalPartieswhoisalsotheSoE.Currently,thereareseven(7)registeredpoliticalparties.

FijiusesamodifiedOpenListProportionalRepresentationsysteminwhichPoliticalPartiesnominatecandidatesasPartyList.IndependentCandidatescanindividuallylodgetheirnominations.Partiesranktheircandidatesatthetimeofnomination,however,thefinalorderofthecandidatesisdecidedbythenumberofvoteseachcandidatereceives.

Leading up to the 2018General Election, FEOmade various engagements with Political Parties includingquarterlymeetings,workshops and simulation exercises. In particular, therewere six (6) quarterlymeetingscommencingfrom2017todiscusselectoralissueswithFEOandECaswellasten(10)workshopsandsimulationexercises organised from 2016 toOctober, 2018 that assisted political parties in better understanding theelectoralprocesses.Further,inequippingcandidatesandpoliticalpartieswiththerelevantinformationrequiredforthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOpublishedthePollingAgents’HandbookinJuly,2017withthepurposeof informing parties on the process of accrediting their polling agents, code of conduct, authorised designated areas as well as methods of voting, counting, tabulation of results, allocation of seats and electoral complaints mechanism.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202336

Then in January, 2018 FEO also published the Candidates’ Handbook that provided information on thenomination,withdrawalandappealprocessesforcandidates.

Moving forward, in strengthening its relationship with Political Parties and Candidates FEO intends to increase engagement with them by ensuring that there are more capacity building programs and trainings in the lead up tothenextGeneralElection.Inductionprogramswillbedevelopedfornewlyregisteredpoliticalparties.TheFEO will also look into reviewing accreditation of polling agents and complaints processes to improve service delivery as well as ensure that information is readily accessible to political parties and candidates through brochures,pamphletsandanupdatedwebsite.

It is to be noted that several core issues such as youth representation and participation, women’s representation and participation, disabled persons representation and participation can now be directly dealt with at political partylevelandthisiswherethefocuswilltransition.

Besidesthis,thepoliticalpartiesandcandidatesarerequiredtocomplywiththeElectoralAct,2014andthePoliticalPartiesAct,2013byensuringthatrelevantDeclarationofassets,liabilities,IncomeandExpenditurearesubmittedwithinthestipulatedtimeline.TheFEOwillworkcloselywiththepoliticalpartiesandcandidatestoensurecomplianceoftheselaws.

Parliament of FijiThelastGeneralElectionwasheldon14November2018.Inthe2018GeneralElection,51seatswerecontestedunlikein2014whenonly50seatswerecontestedbasedonthe2013Constitution.

Thefirst sittingof thenewparliamentand theswearing inof themembersofparliament tookplaceon26November2018.Currently,three(3)politicalpartiesarerepresentedinParliamentwithFijiFirstwith27seats,SODELPAwith21seatsandNFPwiththree(3)seats.

The Parliament of Fiji has the powers to pass and amend relevant electoral legislations, which has an impact on electoralprocesses.Moreover,ParliamentpassesthebudgetforFEOforitsplannedprojectsandoperations.

Government AgenciesAGovernment Agency is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions. There is anotablevarietyofagencytypes.Althoughusagediffers,aGovernmentAgencyisnormallydistinctfrombothaDepartmentorMinistryandothertypesofpublicbodiesestablishedbygovernment.

TheidentifiedkeygovernmentstakeholdersforFEOareasfollows:

• Minister Responsible for Elections is the Minister Responsible for matters relatedtoelectionsinParliament.TheFEOalsoliaiseswithothergovernmentministries throughtheMinistryResponsibleforElections.Parliamentaryqueriesregardingthe FEOarehandledthroughtheMinister. • Ministry of Justice isthecivilregistryandcustodianofallcivilrecords.TheFEO utilizesthedataforvariouspurposesintheperformanceofitsfunctions. • Department of Immigration maintains the travel history and passport related detailsofFijians.TheFEOrefersallqueriesregardingcandidate’seligibilityunder therequirementsforverificationbythedepartment. • Ministry of Provincial Development maintains the regional infrastructure within Fiji.TheFEOliaiseswiththeDivisionalCommissionersfromtheMinistryforlogistics andlocalsupport. • Fiji Corrections Services and Judicial Department are information hubs for details of imprisonment records of individuals and assist the FEO in determining the eligibilityofapersontobeacandidateoravoter. • Fiji Police Force areprimaryprovidersofsecurityandalsologisticstosomeextent. TheFEOalsoutilizestheCriminalRecordsDatabaseheldbytheFijiPoliceForcefor variouseligibilitychecks.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 37

• Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption [‘FICAC’] is the primary investigatorandprosecutorofallelectoraloffences.TheFEOreportsanysuspected electoraloffencetoFICAC. • Bureau of Statistics provides the FEO with the required statistical data to assist itinitsplanningandlogistics. • Ministry of Education Heritage and Arts is a key Ministry that FEO liaises with foraccesstoschoolsandstudentse.g.schoolstouseaspollingvenuesandvoter enrolmentofstudents. • Ministry of EconomyisthecustodianofGovernmentfinancesandtheFEOliaise withtheMinistrythroughitslineMinistryforfundingpurposes.

Media TheMediaIndustryDevelopment[‘MIDA’]Act,2010whichwasamendedin2013regulatesmediainFiji.

MIDA collaborates with the FEO to implement media training and capacity building in election reporting as well astointroduceappropriateguidelinesformediareportingwithinthelegalframework.

TheFEOalsoliaiseswithlocalandinternationalmediaorganisations.TheFEOconsidersthefollowinglargemedia organisations as key partners in delivering its mandate:

• FijiBroadcastingCorporation(FBC)-TheFBCoperatesthree(3)TVchannelsand six(6)radiochannelscoveringthecountry; • CommunicationsFijiLimited(CFL)–CommunicationsFijiLtdoperatesfive(5)radio stations covering the country; • Fiji Television Limited; • The Fiji Sun; and • TheFijiTimes.

For general elections, the FEO conducts media accreditations for media organisations and personnel to cover electioncoverage.Mediatrainingisalsoconductedwhichisco-fundedbyMIDAandtrainingconductedbytrainersfromInternationalFoundationsforElectoralSystems[‘IFES’]togetherwithMediaHandbook.

Advocacy GroupsTheFEOmaintainsanopenapproachtoadvocacygroupswithin the legal framework.TheFEOconductedvarious meetings with external stakeholders such as EDAWG, ESAG, FICAC and CSO’s in preparation for the 2018GeneralElection.

Suppliers Due to the nature of the operations of FEO, it has some specialised suppliers who only make and distribute the electionmaterials.

Duringthe2018GeneralElection,FEOacquiredmaterialsfromreliablevendorshavingregardtoquality,timelydeliveryandbackupservicesusingitsProcurementPolicy.

ForgoodsinexcessofFJD$200,000.00,theFEO’sTenderPolicywasfollowed.Goods,servicesandworksoflesservaluewerepurchasedafterobtainingaminimumofthree(3)competitivequotations.

FEOappreciatesthetimelysupplyofelectionmaterialstosuccessfullyexecutetheelectionprocesses.

International Cooperation PartnersThe FEO has received support, including technical support, in-kind support and fundings from international cooperationpartners.ThesepartnershavebeenAustralia,NewZealand,India,KoreaandBelgium.

TheFEOhadreceivedin-kindassistancefromNewZealandandIndiaintermsofkeyelectionmaterial(votingscreensandindelibleinkrespectively),aswellas,fundingfromIndiatopurchasekeyservices(vehicles).

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202338

FEO had engaged Technical Advisors from Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Belgium that were based with the different Directorates to provide timely advice and share their knowledge and expertise with the FEO staff andNewZealand’sbilateralsupportincludedtoppingupthesalaryoftheDSoE.

Additionally,FEOhasaffiliatedwithregionalandglobalagenciestobuilditscapacityandshareskills,knowledgeandresourcesthroughtheElectoralNetworkandiscurrentlyholdingmembershiporaffiliationswith;

• AWEB–ExecutiveBoardMembersinceSeptember,2017; • PIANZEANetwork–AdvisoryGroupMember; • CommonwealthElectoralNetwork–MemberofExecutiveCommittee;and • AssociationofAsianElectionAuthorities–Member.

Multinational Observer GroupsPursuanttosection119oftheElectoralAct,theMinsterResponsibleforElectionsmayappointorinviteanyperson or organisation to observe any election and these persons or organisations are then accredited by the FEO.

FEO accredited 77 International Observers, which were from United States of America, Canada, France, Japan,NewZealand,KoreaandUnitedKingdom.TheMelanesianSpearheadGroupbroughtObserversfromBougainville,NewCaledonia,PapuaNewGuinea,SolomonIslandsandVanuatuaswellasthePacificIslandsForum Secretariat who brought in Observers from Rwanda, Tonga, French Polynesia and Federated States of Micronesia.

Professional Skilled InstitutionsFEObelievesinbuildingthecapacityandupskillingtheHumanResourcesforthestaff.FEOstaffareencouragedto become members with the professional institutions to share and gather knowledge and skills in their specialisedfields.FEOhasstaffwhoaremembersofFijiInstituteofAuditors,FijiHumanResourcesInstitute,FijiInstituteoftheAccountants,GISandFijiLawSociety.

Annually FEO funds the conferences costs for the staff of FEO to attend the conferences hosted by the respective professionalbodies.Suchconferencesbringtogetherallthepersonnelinthespecialisedfieldfornetworkingandknowledgesharing.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 39

Monitoring and Implementation StrategyThefinalstepinStrategicPlanningprocessistoimplementtheplanandmonitortheprogressoftheactivities.TheStrategicPlanforFEOhasbeendesignedfortheyear2020to2023duetothefour(4)yearelectoralcycle.

ActivitiesinthisPlanhavebeentaggedtovariousstaffpositions.Thesestaffwillbethesolecustodianoftheactivity.TheirsupervisorandultimatelytheDirectortowhomthestaffreportstowillbethedirectauthorityontheactivity.TheInternalAuditorreviewsthequarterlyperformanceofeachDirectorateandtablesitsreporttotheSoE.

FortheFEOStrategicPlanYear2020to2023crosscuttingthemeshavebeensetforgoalsandobjectivestopromotecoordinationandincreaseresourceefficiencythoughintegrationisnotpossibleinallthegoalsandobjectives.

With the clear line of accountability set for each individual activity in the Strategic Plan, the monitoring by either individualstaff,respectiveManagers,Directorsortheindependentpositionsshouldbeflawless.

TheprogressreportforthereviewconductedbytheInternalAuditorandReviewandComplianceOfficerwillbe discussed with the Directors by informing them of the performance of individual staff employed within their DirectoratesbeforeitisescalatedtoSoEforthefinalendorsement.

The Executive Management Board should use reports against its annual plans to review progress towards meeting strategicobjectives.

FEO has aligned the annual appraisal for each staff with the KPI’s set in the Strategic Plan in ensuring all activities as set in the Strategic Plan timeline are achieved in a timely manner with the individual performance appraisal indicatorsalignedtothisStrategicPlan.Annually,staffaremotivatedtoachievetargetssettoattainsufficientperformanceratingforbenefits.

Monitoring Process

Data gathering on the projects, activities and KPI’s on quarterly basis by Internal Auditor and ReviewandComplianceOfficer.

Analyse the data including the Project Submission Papers and ProjectReports.

Completethemonitoringmatrix.

CompiletheFindingsReportfromthemonitoringmatrix.

SubmittheFindingsReporttoSoE.

ApprovalofthePerformanceRatingsonPMSform.

DiscussthefindingswiththerespectiveDirectors.

VerificationofPerformanceManagementformvsStrategicPlanKPI’sannually.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202340

Risk Analysis and Mitigation for the FEO’s Strategic Plan

In order to successfully implement the Strategic Plan of the FEO, analysis of likely risks that can disrupt the implementationoftheplanisimportantfortheOrganisation.Consideringthesignificanceandimportanceofthis issue and huge impact or challenges these risks can cause, there is a need for the development of proper mitigatingstrategiestopreventorreducetheseverityoftheserisks.

TheFEOhasconsideredspecificstrategiesformitigatingrisksandspecificmeasuresforreducingthemincaseoftheiroccurrence.ThelikelyrisksthattheFEOmayencounterarecategorisedintotwo(2)groups;externalandinternalrisk.

• External Risks External risks include those instances where FEO has little or no control of and the implementation oftheStrategicPlanisdependentonexternalfactorsorstakeholders.Theexternalrisksthat theFEOhaveidentifiedincludethefollowing:

1. Delayed or No Legislation in the areas identified in the Strategic Plan Changes in legislation governing the conduct of elections in Fiji needs to be passed by theFijiParliamentandisbeyondtheFEO’scontrol.Delaysorlackofwilltopassthe required legislation will have an impact on the performance and implementation of the StrategicPlan.

To mitigate this risk, the FEO will implement the activities in accordance with the existing laws and ensure that it is able to account for changes to the law, if and when that would takeplace.

2. Lack of adequate funding for the FEO TocarryoutthisStrategicPlaneffectively,thereneedstobesufficientandavailablefinancial capitaltoenablethescheduledimplementationofactivities.ForthenextGeneralElection, theFEOisplanningtodecentralizeitsoperationalactivitiestoitsDivisionalofficesandthisis reflectedintheStrategicPlan.Decentralisationensuresthatelectoralactivitiesandservices areefficientlyandeffectivelycarriedoutinatimelymanner.Lackofadequatefundingor delays in accommodating budget requests for the FEO is considered as one of the main risks fortheFEOasitcouldleadtothenon-accomplishmentofactivitiesstatedinitsStrategicPlan.

To mitigate this risk, the FEO will ensure that proper and timely budget requests are submitted totherelevantauthoritiesduringthenextfour(4)yearelectoralcycle.TheFEOintendsto begin discussions with its major stakeholders such as the Ministry of Economy and the international community, which have been the main donors for electoral activities in the past on the implementationstrategiesofitsStrategicPlan.Thiswillensurethatfinancialsupportfor theFEOisstrategicallyplannedandmappedoutwellinadvance.TheFEOwillalsoensure thatitsdecentralisationactivitiesarephasedoutevenlywithinthenextfour(4)yearsinorder toavoidtoomuchfinancialpressureatoneparticulartimeorfinancialyear.

3. Unpredictable weather conditions AsaresultoftheForceMajeurethatwascausedbyheavyrainfallandfloodingduringpolling dayinthe2018GeneralElection,theFEOismindfuloftheirregularweatherpatterns experiencedintheregionduringthelastcoupleofyears.TheFEOexpectstofacesimilar issues,whichcouldbringaboutnaturalcatastrophesinitsnextplanningcycle.Delaysin activitiesduetonaturaldisasterscouldleadtothenon-completionoftasksintheStrategicPlan.

To mitigate the risk, the FEO will have a contingency plan strategy in place to mitigate and respondtotheseimmediatesituationswhenitrises.TheFEOwillcontinuetobeina state of readiness for any situation of this nature, which could arise at any point in time in thenextfour(4)years.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 41

• Internal Risks Apart from the risks that are of an external nature, there are a number of internal risks that can challengetheimplementationoftheStrategicPlan.Internalrisksmostlyincludeissuesthatthe FEOisdirectlyresponsibleforandisabletoeliminateorreducetheseverityofitsimpact. TheinternalrisksthattheFEOhaveidentifiedincludethefollowing:

1. Resistance to Change As the FEO matures as an Organisation, it is important that FEO advance itself in the directionofbecomingmoreestablishedandstableinitsaffairs.ThisreflectshowtheFEOis willingtointroducenewconceptsandideasinitsevolvement.However,theFEOsees challengesinmanagingthis‘Organisationalchange’withresistancefromitsstaff.

To mitigate this risk, the FEO will continue to expose its staff to international best practices in elections through capacity building programs and workshops, hold consultations, meetings andforumstoaddressfears,doubtsanduncertainties,whichmayariseintheOrganisation.

2. Loss of experienced staff to implement the Strategic Plan TheFEOisalwaysfacingtheissuesofretainingexperiencedstaff.Thishasresultedin non-achievementofcertainactivitiesandtasksfromthepreviousStrategicPlan.Atthe successfulcompletionofthe2018GeneralElection,FEOstaffhavebecomemarketable andwidelysoughtafterbyotherorganisations.Thishasresultedinthedepartureofagreat numberofexperiencedstaffduringthepost2018GeneralElectionperiod.

To mitigate this risk, the FEO intends to retain staff by providing better working conditions, environmentandtrainingopportunitiestobuildcapacityforthem.Toensureskillsand knowledge is not lost during the loss of experienced staff, self-development and knowledge transfer programs will be developed for the FEO to ensure that knowledge is transferred fromonesectionoftheOrganisationtoanothertoensureitsavailabilityforfutureusers.

3. Failure of IT infrastructure Cyber-attacks or sabotage and untimely failure of IT hardware resources remains to be one (1)ofthemajorcausesofdelays,interruptionsandnon-completionofactivitiesduringthe implementationstageoftheStrategicPlan.Tomitigatethisrisk,theFEOwilldevelopand implement policies and procedures on actions to be taken when cyber-attacks occur and ensurethatadisasterrecoveryplanforbusinesscontinuityisinplace.

The FEO will also put in place mechanisms to ensure that regular network monitoring and systemauditsareconducted.Toreducetheseverityimpactofthisrisk,theFEOwillensure that adequate budgeting and aggressive up-skilling of necessary resources and staff skills are carriedouteffectively.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202342

Milestone Year 2020# Milestone Pillar # Objective #

1 Develop an Online Register for political parties 1 3

2 Staffingstructurefor2022/23GeneralElectionapproved 2 3

3 Implement Inventory Management System 2 4

4 FinalisetheGeneralElectionCalendarfor2022/23 3 1

5 Publish Provisional Polling Venue List 3 1

6 Developafour(4)yearVoterRegistrationStrategy 3 4

7 Communications Strategy approved 4 6

8 Implement Industrial Election Management Platform 5 3

9 Establish IT Directorate 5 5

Milestone Year 2021# Milestone Pillar # Objective #

1 Finalise operational manuals, handbooks and trainer guides 1 1

2 PRINCE2–Projectmanagementtrainingforseniorstaff 2 1

3 Finaliseprocurementplanfor2022/23GeneralElections 2 4

4 Divisionalofficesareoperationalfor2022/23GeneralElections 2 6

5 FinaliseGeneralElection2022/23operationalplan 3 1

6 PublishFijiNationalPollingVenueDirectory(v2.0) 3 3

7 Conduct Overseas Voter Registration 3 4

8 Audit of National Register of Voters 3 5

9 Implement E-Training platform and E-Service portal 5 3

10 Establish a software and network monitoring system 5 3

Milestone Year 2022# Milestone Pillar # Objective #

1Declaration of Assets, Liabilities, Income and Expenditures for political parties published

1 3

2 100%ElectionOfficialsrecruited 2 3

3 100%ElectionOfficialstrained 2 8

4 Areaofficesareoperationalfor2022/23GeneralElection 2 6

5 Conductthe2022/23GeneralElection 3 1

6 Media training on elections conducted 4 4

7 Network and Software Audit completed 5 4

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 43

Milestone Year 2023# Milestone Pillar # Objective #

1 Reviewofthe2022/23GeneralElectionprocesses 1 1

2 Supervisor of Elections report submitted and published 1 1

3JointreportbytheSupervisorofElectionsandElectoralCommissionpublished

1 1

4 StrategicPlanfor2024-2027developed 2 1

5 Post-Election audit completed 3 1

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 202344

Conclusion

ThisStrategicPlan(2020-2023)wascompiledthroughthecollaborativeeffortsoftheFEOstaffandManagement.Itallowsalltohaveownershipoftheactivitiestheyplantoundertakebetween2020to2023anditwillalsoguidetheminensuringthatthenextGeneralElectionisdeliveredsuccessfully.

Infocusingontheperiod2020to2023,theFEOhasadoptednewmilestonesthatitaimstoachieve.Itwillalsolook at strengthening collaboration with different stakeholders to ensure that all areas involving them will allow formaximuminvolvementandcooperation.

In terms of implementation, the FEO will closely monitor the implementation of all activities on a quarterly basis andmilestonesonanannualbasis.ThestaffandmanagementoftheFEOarelookingforwardtothejourneyaheadwiththeresponsibilitiesthatcomewithit.

TheultimateaimistostabilizetheplanninganddeliveryofelectionsinFijiandreducethead-hocchangesthateventuateduringtheexercise.Theenhancementsofoperationalsystemsshouldresultingreatercontrolwhileatthesametimeallowingdirectaccesstooperationalareas.

The plan seeks to secure greater collaboration and development of capacities of all Fijians and this will ultimately build strongercommunitiesthatunderstandtheelectoralprocess.

Attheconclusionofalltheactivitiesinthisplan,theFEOwillhavesignificantlyraisedthestandardsofdeliveryofelectionsandatthesametimeinstilledconfidenceinvotersintermsoftheverifiabilityoftheelectionprocessthroughtheenhancedtransparencyofitsactivities.

STRATEGIC PLAN

2020 - 2023 45