Subscribe
Local News
2022 General Election: Chief happy polls over
Men of the village enjoyed a fun-filled grog session by the beach to celebrate the end of pre-polling voting at Tawake Village in Cakaudrove. Tawake and five other villages belong to the district of the...
2022 General Election: ‘This is for her future’ – Luca
FATHER and daughter duo Toga Luca and Litia Tuinuve were among more than 80 villagers who cast their vote in Maniava Village, Ra, yesterday. Mr Luca said seeing his daughter cast her vote for the first time was a milestone. “This is for her future,” he said. “As a father, I want to see the...
2022 General Election: Pastor casts first ballot
SENIOR pastor Usaia Seniu is encouraging the people of Naitasiri to vote and to do so wisely. He was the first person to cast his ballot on Tuesday at Nabukaluka, Naitasiri. The 64-year-old senior pastor of the All Nations Church was all smiles as he exited the pre-polling venue. “I woke up at 4am to...
2022 General Election : District rep is all smiles
NUKU district representative (mata-ni-tikina) Ratu Elia Nasauvinaka said he was happy to see Naimasimasi Village youths come out in numbers to vote during pre-polling voting on Wednesday. “This is the second time pre-polling was held in this village and I am grateful to the Fijian Elections Office officials for making it easy for the voters,”...
2022 General Election: Disability poses no problem for village elder
BEING visually impaired did not stop Waisea Tanatirau, 65, from casting his vote during pre-polling at Wainiyavu Village, Namosi, on Tuesday. His wife Ranadi Rosana said they were grateful to the Fijian Elections Office officials and police officers for coming to their house to help her husband to vote. “My husband is fully blind. It...
2022 General Election: District conducts survey
RA Provincial Council administrators visited polling stations within the district yesterday to survey voter turnout during pre-polling for the 2022 General Election at villages within the province. Roko Tui Savou Kaveni Raseru said a directive was issued from their office in Suva to conduct the study. “We heard in the news that pre-polling turnout was...
2022 General Election Awareness is vital’
A LOT of voters in the Ba highlands missed out on voting during pre-polling this week because they were out fetching wild turmeric to earn money for their families. A resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity said while it was wrong for people not to vote, they were simply trying to provide for...
2022 General Election: Make the right choice – Duariba
A 22-YEAR-OLD mother got up at 6am on Thursday, wrapped her one-year-old child up and walked to the Botenaulu Village hall in Naitasiri to cast her vote during the pre-polling for the 2022 General Election. Salanieta Duariba said she was excited because she was a first-time voter. The Fiji Times news team spotted her carrying...
2022 General Election : Listen to all voices
IN order for Fiji to redeem itself from a fragile political landscape, the voices of all its people must be heard, including the LGBTQI community — an essential part of a thriving democracy. Transgender advocate Sulique Waqa said this in response to recent attacks on National Federation Party candidate, Divina Loloma — who is a...
2022 General Election: Villagers look at issues before voting – Headman
ALTHOUGH Nausori Highland Village is an hour’s drive from Nadi Town, it does not have access to mobile phone connectivity and is often at the bottom of the list when it comes to development in the Nadroga/ Navosa Province. Village headman Epeli Vamoso said people in the village took this into consideration when they cast...
2022 General Election : ‘True democracy, we do hope leaders will always think of us’ – grandma
A 60-YEAR-OLD grandmother in the interior of Ba who voted in the 2022 General Election during pre-polling this week, said she wanted a government that would ensure “true democracy prevails in Fiji.” Aunisi Lauwai said she kept herself well-versed with the country’s political goings-on and has never missed voting in a general election. The Navala,...
2022 General Election: Importance of voting
Village elders said they spoke to the youths in their community about the importance of voting in the 2022 General Election. Nameka villager and turaga ni mataqali Paulo Tuvou claimed most of the young people in the village cast their votes without knowing its importance. “Before we came to vote, I spoke to some of...
2022 General Election: Mixed views from first-time voters
Two first-time voters in Waivaka Village, Namosi, cast their ballots during pre-polling for the 2022 General Election this week for two very distinct reasons. Atonio Drau said he did not know what voting and elections meant and only did it because he was scared. “I felt scared the first time I got my voter card...
2022 General Election: Vote on lawn; officials come to the aid of a 90-year-old
Fijian Elections Office technical adviser Craig Rickards assisted 90-year-old Mere Valesau by ensuring FEO officials enabled her to cast her vote on the Navakuru Village lawn. Walking to the village hall appeared to be an issue for her and Mr Rickards came to her aid and offered to help, resulting in Ms Valesau casting her...
2022 General Election: Elderly braves rain to vote
Voters braved the rain to cast their votes at Vudibasoga Catholic School, a pre polling venue in Macuata. Among them was 90-year-old Iginasio Qionibaravi. The nonagenarian, who developed eye problem in the past year, said nothing could stop him from voting. “Even though I am 90 years old, I got myself to the voting venue...
2022 General Election: Commission encourages voters to exercise their right
As Fiji prepares to go to the polls on December 14, the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (FHRADC) is encouraging all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote. In a statement FHRADC chairman Pravesh Sharma said the right to vote was a fundamental human right which was critical to a meaningful electoral process...
2022 General Election: Sayed-Khaiyum hits out at broadcaster
FijiFirst general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum took a swipe at Fiji-based Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Lice Movono for “grossly misinforming the Fijian public”. His comments were in response to a claim by the National Federation Party that he visited Star Printery in Raiwaqa where the ballot papers were being printed on December 1. At a news...
2022 General Election: ABC stands by story
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says it stands by its story titled “Fiji’s Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, caught in extraordinary dispute just a week out from national election”. “This story reveals important allegations regarding the Fiji election and the independence of electoral processes which Fijians and all audiences have a right to know about,” an ABC...
2022 General Election: 84-year-old pleads for proper landing facility
Lagi Village in Dogotuki, Macuata, needs a proper landing facility to help during the evacuation of sick people to the village health centre. That was the plea made by 84-year-old Loata Tokea after she cast her vote during pre-polling voting at her village on Thursday. Lagi’s health centre, which is staffed by a doctor and...
2022 General Election: ‘We want leaders who respect what we value’
The people in the district of Namuka in Macuata are ready to embrace change, change they say that has eluded them for a while. They showed up in numbers to cast their votes during the fourth day of pre-polling at Namuka District School. “We thank the Government for what it has done over the years...
2022 General Election: Power is in our hands – Borosio
Rusiate Borosio believes Fiji needs a government that practises the principles of democracy including respect for citizens’ human rights. He made the comment at his home village of Lagi, in Macuata as villagers cast their votes during the fourth day of pre-polling voting in the Northern Division. The 69-year-old bachelor said the politics of past...
2022 General Election: Commission for peace and reconciliation
A Unity Fiji government will establish a Commission for Peace and Reconciliation to help the country move forward by healing the wounds of the past. Party leader Savenaca Narube said this in a statement issued yesterday. “Unity Fiji believes that to empower the entire nation to move forward towards hope and freedom, we must look...
2022 General Election: Bainimarama’s achievements ‘worst in our history’
His achievements are one of the worst in our history both economically, financially, socially and in our rights and freedoms in this country. Unity Fiji leader Savenaca Narube claimed this of FijiFirst party (FFP) leader and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. Mr Narube said this in response to a question from the media regarding comparisons made...
2022 General Election: ‘We will see justice is done to workers’
Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry says if the Labour government comes into power, it will re-open the case of all workers who have been dismissed unfairly without due process. “We will see that justice is done to all these workers,” Mr Chaudhry said. “I am referring to workers in statutory organisations such as FRCA,...
2022 General Election: Unemployment figures at 30 per cent – Unity Fiji
Unity Fiji leader Savenca Narube claimed Fiji’s unemployment figures were sitting at 30 per cent at present and could double in four years. And the former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor claimed his party’s economic transformation program could address the issue by doubling Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in four years. Speaking to the media at...
2022 General Election: Bainimarama shot himself in the foot – Rabuka
The People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka says FijiFirst leader Voreqe Bainimarama shot himself in the foot by labelling as macawa (useless) his plan to remove all permanent secretaries and CEOs should the PA-National Federation Party form government. “What happened to Fiji Bureau of Statistics CEO Kemueli Naiqama, what happened to those permanent secretaries that they...
2022 General Election: Favourtism ‘modus operandi’ of FijiFirst
Favouritism has been the modus operandi of the FijiFirst Government and this has “hurt” the private sector, claims Unity Fiji leader Savenaca Narube. Speaking to the media recently, he also claimed government intervention in the private sector where it favoured some and punished others has created uncertainty, especially for potential investors. “This government has hurt...
2022 General Election: ‘No bond for students’ – Gavoka
A Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) government will not place students in their free tertiary education initiative under any kind of bond. SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka said this at a rally at Syria Park, Nausori yesterday. Speaking to supporters, he said students would not be burdened by bonds. “We will not bond you, you will...
2022 General Election: Sayed-Khaiyum ‘misrepresenting truth’
Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry has accused FijiFirst general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum of misrepresenting the truth by saying canefarmers received the lowest cane price when Mr Chaudhry was Prime Minister in 1999. Mr Chaudhry was responding to Mr Sayed-Khaiyum’s comments in interviews with the Auckland-based station Radio Tarana. “In fact, the cane payout of...
2022 General Election: Simpson was paid $500k a year – Vosarogo
Former Land Transport Authority (LTA) CEO Samuel Charles Simpson was paid more than $500,000 a year, claims The People’s Alliance (PA) candidate for the 2022 General Election Filimoni Vosarogo. He made the claim at a campaign rally, while explaining why The People’s Alliance wanted to review the appointment of permanent secretaries, CEOs of statutory institutions...
