Fiji elections

  • Media release

I congratulate Fiji for holding elections on 17 September, the first elections since 2006. This was an historic day for the people of Fiji.

Based on provisional results, the FijiFirst Party is on track to win a majority of seats in Fiji's Parliament. Australia looks forward to working with the new Fiji Government when it is formed.

I welcome the provisional statement of the Multinational Observer Group which found that the conditions were in place for Fijians to exercise their right to vote freely and that the outcome was on track to broadly represent the will of the Fijian voters.

I commend the work of the Multinational Observer Group, co-led by the Hon Peter Reith of Australia, Ambassador Wahid Supriyadi of Indonesia andMr Sayan Chatterjee of India. The Group consisted of over 90 observers from 13 countries and the EU and the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Ten current and former Parliamentarians represented Australia in the group.

Australia has provided significant support to Fiji's election process, including funding six Australian election experts in the Fijian Elections Office.

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