Fiji’s prime minister is not giving any hints about when exactly the country will head to the polls.
The island nation is expected to hold its fourth general election under the 2013 Constitution by 6 February 2027 at the latest.
Under Fiji’s current electoral system, the entire country forms a single national constituency, with more than 723,000 registered voters on the electoral roll as of 30 June, according to the Fijian Elections Office.
In an interview with RNZ Pacific in Savusavu, northern Fiji, Rabuka said he does not yet have an election date.
“No, we have not set a date for the elections,” he said.
Rabuka said that once the government settled on a “definitive date”, he would advise the president, who would then issue a writ for the election.
The prime minister said that an election date would need to be considered alongside the parallel parliamentary work being undertaken to amend the constitution.
“[The election date] will have to be worked out considering all the work that is now going to be taken through parliament … the processing of the amendment of the [2013] Constitution and the preparation time required by our elections officials.”
Rabuka also confirmed that Fiji is due to conduct its national census next year.
“Without the figures from the census, which is due next year, we will have to have an intelligent projection of the census figures from 10 years ago and see if we can work out a map on constituencies etc, if they are going to be incorporated into the determining features of our elections.”
However, he has also told local media that the 6 February deadline remained unchanged.
“There have been suggestions [to extend the deadline for the elections], but it is outside the law as I see it now,” he said in response to a question from fijivillage.com.
