Electoral system for national legislature

Fiji Electoral Decree 2014 (Articles 102 to 105)

Tabulation process

102.—(1) The Supervisor shall prepare a National Results Tally, which shall record the total number of votes cast for each candidate at all the polling stations.

(2) The National Results Tally shall be conspicuously displayed (whether in electronic format or otherwise) to all persons who are present to observe the tabulation process.

(3) As the protocol of results are received from each polling station, in accordance with section 97(1) or (2), the Supervisor shall progressively amend the National Results Tally to re ect the total number of votes received by a candidate.

(4) In addition to displaying the number of votes received by each candidate, the Supervisor must ensure that the National Results Tally also progressively displays the total number of votes received by each political party, which shall be calculated by adding the total number of votes received by all the party candidates nominated by that political party.

Final National Results Tally

103.—(1) After the original of the protocol of results are received from all the polling stations and after all the votes received by each candidate at each polling station is recorded on the National Results Tally, the Supervisor shall prepare the Final National Results Tally, which must contain the total number of votes received by each candidate and the total number of votes received by each political party.

(2) The Supervisor shall ensure that the party list of all the political parties in the Final National Results Tally is re-arranged in the descending order with the party candidate who received the most votes listed at the top of the party list, and, in the case where two or more candidates have received the same number of votes, then the ranking of these candidates as contained in the party list submitted under section 26 shall be followed.

 (3) Immediately after preparing the Final National Results Tally, the Supervisor shall publicly announce the results as contained in the Final National Results Tally, and the announcement must include the announcement of the total number of votes received by each candidate, and the total number of votes received by each political party.

(4) Once prepared, the Supervisor must sign the Final National Results Tally and immediately send it to the Electoral Commission.

(5) The Final National Results Tally must be publicly displayed and copies of the Final National Results Tally must be made available upon request to any candidate, polling agent, observer or to the media.

Allocation of seats

104.—(1) Upon receipt of the Final National Results Tally, the Electoral Commission must immediately proceed to determine the names of the candidate or candidates who have been elected as a member of Parliament.

(2) The Electoral Commission must rst ascertain the total number of votes received by each political party and each independent candidate from the Final National Results Tally, and must enter those totals at the head of separate columns under the name of each political party and each independent candidate on the Candidate Allocation Form.

(3) The Electoral Commission must then disregard any total number of votes received under the name of any political party or any independent candidate that has not received a total that is at least 5% of the total number of votes received by all the political parties and independent candidates.

(4) After disregarding any total under the name of any political party or any independent candidate in accordance with subsection (3), the Electoral Commission must proceed to divide each of the remaining totals by 1, and the quotient of this division must be recorded on the Candidate Allocation Form in the rst row under the names of each remaining political party and independent candidate.

(5) The Electoral Commission must then proceed to divide each of the remaining totals of each political party (and not the total under the name of any independent candidate) successively by a series of numbers beginning with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and thereafter by every whole number until the number that is equal to the total number of candidates nominated by that party in the election, and the quotient of each successive division shall be recorded on the Candidate Allocation Form in successive rows under the names of each remaining political party.

• (6)  Each quotient shall be rounded off to the nearest whole number. 

• (7)  Once the quotient of each successive division is recorded on the Candidate Allocation Form, the Electoral 


Commission must then proceed to ascertain, from a comparison of all the quotients on the Candidate Allocation Form, the highest quotients equal to the total number of seats being contested in the election, which, for the rst general election of members of Parliament held under the Constitution, shall be 50.

(8) In any case where the lowest of the quotients required to be ascertained under subsection (7) constitutes 2 or more quotients in different columns which are of exactly the same value, the Electoral Commission must determine by lot which of these quotients is to be selected for the purpose of subsection (7).

(9) The Electoral Commission must cause a circle to be drawn on the Candidate Allocation Form around the highest quotients equal to the total number of seats being contested in the election.

(10) The Electoral Commission must then immediately proceed to ascertain the number of seats in Parliament to which each political party or independent candidate is entitled to by adding the number of circles in the column of numbers under the name of that party or independent candidate.

(11) Upon completion of the procedures contained in this section, the duly completed Candidate Allocation Form must be publicly displayed and copies of the Candidate Allocation Form must be made available upon request to any candidate, polling agent, observer or the media.

Selection of candidates

105.—(1) Upon completing the procedures outlined in section 104, the Electoral Commission shall immediately proceed to determine which of the party candidates whose names appear on the party list of each political party on the Final National Results Tally are entitled to be elected to Parliament.

(2) The Electoral Commission must determine which party candidates are entitled to be elected to Parliament by selecting such number of candidates from the party list of each political party as contained in the Final National Results Tally, beginning with the rst candidate on the party list, which are equal to the number of seats which that party is entitled to pursuant to section 104(10).

(3) If the quotient under the name of an independent candidate is circled under section 104(9), then the Electoral Commission shall select the name of that independent candidate as a person entitled to be elected to Parliament.

Although this system is open List PR, the names of participating parties do not appear on the face of the ballot paper.  Votes are cast for individual candidates identified by name and photograph: the total for all candidates of each party is established from which allocation of seats takes place using d’Hondt.