Second Summit for Democracy Affirms Anti-Corruption Initiatives

Jofiliti Veikoso and Joseph Veramu reporting from Seoul, South Korea.

Annual corruption report reveals fourth year of stagnation in the Pacific

Joseph Veramu and Mariam Mathew

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index[1] (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI) showed that the Asia Pacific region stagnated with an average score of 45 for the fourth year in a row.

We emphasize that the 1- or 2-point differences in country scores in this paragraph is not statistically significant and not necessarily indicative of larger trends. Fiji leads the Pacific but fell from 55 to 53 this year. Vanuatu gained 3 points from last year to register a score of 48. The Solomon Islands fell by 1 point to 42. Papua New Guinea (PNG) once again scores least but further fell by 1 point from last year to register this year’s score of 30. Across the pond New Zealand leads in Oceania and second globally with a score of 87. It fell by 1 point from last year’s score. Australia’s score is 75; a 2-point increase from last year.

Despite the opportunity presented by the numerous diplomatic summits held in the region in 2022, (including the Pacific Islands Forum in July) states continued to focus on economic development at the expense of other priorities, including anti-corruption efforts.

Mariam Mathew, Pacific Advisor at TI Secretariat said, “The Pacific has shown some encouraging signs, notably the endorsement of the Teieniwa vision in 2021 and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent in 2022, but anti-corruption commitments have not yet translated into reduced corruption rates”.

Pacific country insights:

Joseph Veramu, Executive Director of CLCT Integrity Fiji said, “We applaud the new government for committing to repeal many undemocratic laws and measures taken by the previous government. We now urge them to prioritise strengthening anti-corruption efforts. This includes ensuring that the Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) remains operational and is able to operate independently and with adequate capacity”. As Fiji’s score in the 2022 CPI fell by 2 points since last year, we believe that all stakeholders in Government, the media, private sector and civil society should work together to curb corruption.”

Ruth Liloqula, Executive Director of Transparency Solomon Islands noted, “The 2022 CPI score of Solomon Islands shows that government’s efforts to tackle corruption in the public sector is not going anywhere; it has become stagnant. The key Government Institutions that should be leading or providing the leadership, bringing in reforms etc. in this fight, are the most corrupt.” On a positive note, Liloqula said that the determination of CSO’s, journalists, concerned citizens, and actors within the government were tenacious in the fight against corruption. “Power is in people’s hand to hold leaders to account and to nurture leaders who develop a culture of integrity and anti-corruption in government,” she added.

PNG in 2022 experienced what is being called the country’s worst elections ever[2] despite a history of electoral rife. TI PNG’s report[3] found numerous irregularities, with out-of-date election rolls, stolen ballot boxes and even bouts of violence. None of this bodes well for democratic development in PNG and may directly affect its future CPI score. 

Vanuatu however, was a bright spot this year. The people are becoming more aware of corruption as an issue, as civil society organisations form coalitions to hold government accountable. In an important win, the government committed to establishing an anti-corruption commission in late 2021. Yet the country continues to grapple with political instability, with snap elections held this year[4] after the prospect of a no-confidence vote triggered the president to call elections in August.

Clancy Moore, CEO of TI Australia noted, “Across the Pacific, corruption poses a direct threat to national and regional peace, stability and security. The Australian government’s foreign policy should prioritise promoting democracy, good governance and civil society accountability efforts.” He added “TI Australia works with our chapters in the Pacific to tackle corruption risks in the mining and infrastructure sector which are skyrocketing as governments and businesses invest in renewable energy. We can also work together to stop money laundering in the region.”

 Insights into New Zealand and Australia

Anne Tolley, Chair of TI New Zealand stated, “While New Zealand remains among the least corrupt countries in the world, the drop from first is a reminder that complacency is not an option in our battle against corruption,” “The gradual decline in our ranking among the component indexes that measure business perceptions is particularly troublesome. Maintaining low levels of corruption is essential for our trade dependent economy,” Tolley added.

Julie Haggie, CEO of TI New Zealand stated, “the good news in 2023 will be the drafting of legislation creating a register of beneficial ownership which will improve monitoring and investigation by government agencies, whilst also reducing business compliance costs. We are looking forward to hearing about progress towards a more transparent government procurement system. TI New Zealand has been actively advocating on these issues and is regularly involved in consultations.”

Clancy Moore noted “after ten years of democratic backsliding, Australia is now in 13th place behind countries including New Zealand and Denmark scoring 75 points on the 100-point scale. “Australia’s score is 10 points lower than in 2012, though a two-point increase in this year’s report – from its lowest ever score of 73 last year – shows Australia may be turning the corner off the back of the landmark National Anti-Corruption Commission. To be a leader in tackling corruption, Australia should introduce a whole of government anti-corruption strategy including comprehensive whistle blower protections, reforms to political donations, expenditure, unfair lobbying and strong laws to stop money laundering.”

Recommendations:

During the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in July 2022, Transparency International Pacific chapters[5] had urged leaders[6] to respond to key corruption findings from a public survey assessing people’s views and experiences of corruption in ten forum member countries and territories. With the 2022 CPI scores being released, it is important that these recommendations be revisited. They are listed as follows:

(a) Strengthening accountability of political leaders, requiring all high-level officials to publicly disclose their income and assets, tightly monitoring discretionary public funds, and empowering the police and courts to properly investigate and punish corruption

(b) Increasing transparency in the relationship between government and businesses, by monitoring companies’ involvement in electoral campaigns and policy making, and by ensuring that all public contracts are awarded fairly and competitively

(c)  Eradicating bribery opportunities by investing in clear and uncomplicated systems for accessing public services

(d)    Ensuring elections are fair and free of vote-buying or threats, by strengthening independent electoral commissions and anti-corruption agencies

(e)   Introducing and enforcing right to information and whistle-blower protection laws, so that citizens and journalists can hold power to account without fear of retaliation.

Anti-corruption activists in the region need to redouble their efforts and actively engage governments nationally and at regional forums to combat the growing scourge of corruption.

  [1] 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index

[2] https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/08/11/papua-new-guinea-conducts-its-worst-election-ever

[3] https://transparencypng.org.pg/tipng-domestic-election-observation-report-2022/

[4] https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/476496/vanuatu-election-international-observers-arrive

[5] Transparency International Pacific chapters include Transparency Vanuatu, Transparency Solomon Islands, Transparency International PNG, CLCT Integrity Fiji, Transparency International Australia and Transparency International New Zealand

[6] https://twitter.com/integrity_fiji/status/1545670098249080833

How did Fiji Perform in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022?

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2022 results released at Tanoa Plaza Hotel on Jan 31, 2023 by CLCT Integrity Fiji showed that Fiji’s score has fallen. Fiji’s score has gone down from last year’s figure of 55 to 53 out of 100 this year. Fiji’s ranking has also fallen from 45 out of 180 nations last year to 49.This 2 points drop is not currently statistically significant or indicative of larger trends. Fiji first appeared in the CPI in 2004 and there was a lapse of 17 years before the next CPI for Fiji came out last year. We would need to see a few more years of CPI scores for Fiji before we can observe the larger trends.

While a fall of 2 points (implying an increase in corruption) is not statistically significant, it highlights the urgent need for civil society, the business sector, the media and all stakeholders to work together with Fiji’s anti-corruption agency FICAC to curb corruption.

Transparency International notes that “A country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean. A country's rank is its position relative to the other countries in the index. Ranks can change merely if the number of countries included in the index changes. The rank is therefore not as important as the score in terms of indicating the level of corruption in that country.”

For a period of 17 years from 2004 to 2021, Fiji was not included in the CPI because it was not featured in at least 3 of the CPI’s 13 data sources.

Grace Konrote noted that, “Fiji’s absence from the CPI list for 17 years did not mean that Fiji was corruption-free. It meant that there was not enough data available to accurately measure levels of corruption.”

Ms Konrote added that it is reassuring that the new Coalition Government has taken over after 16 repressive years and that many repressive laws are planned for removal. For anti-corruption strategies to be effective, integrity institutions need to be strengthened and democracy processes need to be bolstered.

Social Media

Integrity Fiji’s Elsie Pickering said that on their Facebook post of the CPI some people were commenting that there was a lot of corrupt activity reported, but these was not accurately reported in the CPI score. How could this have happened?

Pickering noted that there are a number of possible reasons for this. Corrupt activity not within the timeframe of this year’s CPI could take a year or more to reflect in the data sources. Some positive developments in controlling public sector corruption might have been captured, balancing out these negative cases. Ms Pickering noted that Fiji’s anti-corruption agency was dynamic and proactive and this has been a very positive factor when compared with Pacific nations that do not have anti-corruption agencies. “We may gripe about FICAC but the reality is that they have worked hard through the years to develop strong anti corruption strategies.”

Executive Director Joseph Veramu said that one positive aspect of this year’s CPI score and ranking for Fiji is that a new Government has come into power that is not authoritarian. ”Government will repeal the draconian Media Act and allow for free speech and assembly amongst other democratic rights.”

Veramu said that the CPI was not just about corruption issues. It also covers a free media, freedom of speech and assembly, human rights, gender rights and a country run on dynamic democratic principles.” All these democratic ideals combine to affirm our integrity institutions and help to curb corruption in Fiji.

Whistle-blowing Regional University Vice Chancellor Reinstated in Fiji

 Fijian media reported that Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had moved quickly to ensure exiled whistle-blowing University of the South Pacific Vice Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia returned to Fiji and that the $90 million + University grant that was withheld (to pressure him to resign) will be reinstated.

Rabuka will apologise on behalf of the people of Fiji for the way Ahluwalia was treated. He noted that he had promised that his government would bring to an end the injustices suffered by Ahluwalia. He added that prohibition orders against Ahluwalia were unreasonable and inhumane and should never have been made. Rabuka observed that Ahluwalia was exiled by deportation after a dispute with the Fiji government (over his whistle-blowing), and it created a major crisis for the University. Transparency International noted that “Despite the recognition that whistle-blowers are crucial to society, the fight for their rights remains full of hurdles. But there are also wins to celebrate.” Ahluwalia’s re-instatement sends a clear message that whistle-blowers should feel free to report incidences of wrongdoing especially in Government funded entities.

Ahluwalia’s case is not an isolated one. It seems to be widespread and mirrors the toxic culture where whistle-blowers are persecuted for exposing wrongdoing. Transparency International had published a statement “urging all UN member states to end reprisals against whistle-blowers, and to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights of everyone – including those working to promote and defend the rights of other people and to fight and expose corruption.”

The Guardian (21/6/2022) reported on a damning BBC documentary dealing with the United Nation’s mistreatment of whistle-blowers. It noted that once whistle-blowers spoke out, the UN went after them. One whistle-blower, for example, was suddenly accused of solicitation and viewing nude photographs on his phone at work. Yet another has footage of Swiss police entering her flat and refusing to leave: she says the UN had sent them, and had told them Reilly was a suicide risk.

In the case of Ahluwalia, Jyoti Pratibha of the Fiji Sun reported that the Chair of the University’s Audit and Risk Committee noted 33 counts of instances where it is alleged that Ahluwalia did not follow the established procedures. ”Because of the seriousness of the allegations” he was suspended.

One early sign that there were some complications in the allegations brought against Ahluwalia was when the highly respected finance and IT expert, Semi Tukana, resigned abruptly. He had sent his letter of resignation to then Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson who had appointed him (Tukana) to the investigation committee. Mr Tukana had provided four reasons for resigning. One concern was that “this sub-committee (is) being used as a means to achieving the ultimate aim of terminating the appointment of Professor Pal Ahluwalia as VC at USP.” He also highlighted the “existing public perception of the lack of independence in how the appointment of the members of this committee was arrived at,” and the “non-involvement of the USP Council as a whole.”

The University Council had rescinded the suspension. It “is not persuaded that due process was followed in the suspension of Vice-Chancellor Ahluwalia.”

This led some to question whether there had been elements of vindictiveness in Ahluwalia’s suspension

When Professor Ahluwalia took up his position in 2019, he hit the ground running. Although appointed in November 2018, he formally took up his role in January 2019. Within six weeks of taking office, concerned staff had gone to Ahluwalia with allegations. In April 2019, Ahluwalia sent a paper entitled “Issues, Concerns and Breaches of Past Management and Financial Decisions” alleging wrongdoing by the former Vice Chancellor”. Ahluwalia had made 26 allegations of mismanagement against his predecessor who held office from 2008 to 2018.

BDO Auckland concluded there was a lack of documentary evidence because of the level and or quality of documentation retained by USP. “BDO’s view is that a majority of the decisions investigated were made within the boundaries of the Vice Chancellor’s ordinance. However, when critically analysed, the rationale for many of the decisions taken is unclear.” BDO identified the need for greater oversight, control and management of the HR and payroll functions of the USP.

Transparency International and CLCT Integrity Fiji note that the fight for whistleblowers’ rights has also produced key wins, but for these wins to spark real change and better protection for whistle-blowers, we must continue fighting. Integrity Fiji and its youth network Youths4IntegrityFiji have been unwavering in supporting whistle-blowers like Ahluwalia; choosing him as Pacific Integrity Champion in 2021

Anti-corruption fighters, including whistle-blowers, are increasingly under threat. Supporting them is a core pillar of Integrity Fiji and Transparency International’s work – through legal advice, rapid response, and advocacy for better legal and institutional frameworks. This not only makes a difference for the individuals involved but protects everyone by working towards an environment that allows people to speak out safely against corruption and be heard.

New Fiji Government and what it means for anti-corruption advocacy

 Fiji now has a new Government led by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. He replaces Frank Bainimarama’s FijiFirst Party that had been in power for 16 years. 

Bainimarama had instigated a military coup in 2006. At that time, he claimed that he had wanted to “clean up” Fiji from corruption. While his government made many strides on socio-economic development, there were allegations in later years of nepotism in the appointment of his relatives to senior Government positions. His authoritarian democracy stifled local government elections, limited free speech and freedom of assembly. Bainimarama had held democratic elections in 2014 under a new constitution and won by a landslide.

Rabuka the new Prime Minister of the Coalition Government had previously carried out two military coups in 1987. He had also served as the democratically elected prime minister from 1992 to 1999. From Rabuka’s conservative pro-Fijian nationalist image in 1987, he had re-invented himself to become an inclusive statesman advocating for multicultural harmony in Fiji.

Bainimarama’s Government is credited with ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the setting up of the highly regarded national anti-corruption agency, the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption. One senior official from one of CLCT Integrity Fiji’s donor partners noted that FICAC is an anti-corruption agency in the Pacific that actually works and is efficient. In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2021 (released in Jan 2022) Fiji scored 55 out of 100 and was ranked 45 out of 180 nations. To be ranked in the top 50 least corrupt nations was commendable.

Rabuka’s political party had stated in their manifesto that they would phase out FICAC and have its functions undertaken by the Fiji Police Force or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. To do this, Rabuka would need to amend the Constitution. There are indications that he will not phase out FICAC but review its modus operandi.

(r to l) Elsie Pickering, Josa (Amania!) Grace Konrote, Qalo Lesinawai and Rusula Cavalevu

Integrity Fiji Youth and Community Officer Grace Konrote said that at the outset, the NGO leaders realised that under the repressive Fiji Media Act, they had to be courageous and speak out even if that meant spending time in a police cell or hauled off to prison.

“We either spoke out or joined a less assertive group like say knitting or mat weaving. Our strategy was to be diplomatic and constructive in our advocacy.” Their testing moment came in early 2021 when the Bainimarama Government planned to introduce the Draft Police Bill. The Draft Bill proposed that a police officer should be allowed to seize, without warrant, any electronic storage device found in any crime scene. It would be lawful for any police officer to use reasonable force on any person who failed to comply. There were provisions to deploy police as soldiers subjected to military law during emergency situations.

https://www.fijivillage.com/news/Youth-for-Integrity-welcomes-PMs-comments-that-Draft-Police-Bill-will-not-go-in-its-current-form-to-Parliament-4rf5x8/

Qalo Lesinawai a part time event organiser for Integrity Fiji said that with the new Rabuka Government, they hoped that the oppressive Fiji Media Act would be repealed. This would allow them to do their anti-corruption advocacy without fear.

Elsie Pickering another part time event organiser said that the other issue they had to get used to were trolls who hounded them on social media. “We are not saying that they were sympathisers of the previous Government. We just had to develop thick skins and not lose sight of the reason our NGO was created and that is to support anti-corruption advocacy.”

What does the future hold?

The current political situation is still an unfolding narrative. The current government has a very slim majority. While there is hope that it will last the full 4 years, we must anticipate that the situation is fluid and can change. Integrity Fiji remains hopeful as the new coalition government has publicly stated that they will put more focus and attention on good governance which is a pre-condition for anti-corruption work in any society.

https://fijisun.com.fj/2022/12/26/good-governance-top-priority-kamikamica/?fbclid=IwAR3VI16CRsOlYJ5ud9EWOo9vHdRHStn8NnC-MHF4kC_QQ6R9l6iFsmgdEOU

Chairperson Jofiliti Veikoso acknowledged the great support Integrity Fiji had received from its partners in the Fiji National University, the anti-corruption agency FICAC, the Ministry of Economy’s Procurement Office, UN agencies, local embassies and high commissions, other NGOs and civil society. “Democracy can be cumbersome and long winded. However, we cannot go back to the old ways. For anti-corruption advocacy to thrive, we need lots of democracy in Fiji!”

Talanoa with the Fiji Supervisor of Elections – Lead Up to 2022 General Election

 Sakeo Moce

“SoE exhorted youth leaders to encourage their friends and family to cast their votes during election day.”

On the 22^nd of November 2022, Youths4IntegrityFiji, the youth network of Integrity Fiji organised a talanoa session with the Fiji Supervisor of Elections Mr Mohammed Saneem. The talanoa was to learn about the electoral processes and how the Fiji Election Office will expedite the process of the General Election 2022.

Sakeo Moce (Integrity Fiji Board Secretary) pictured with Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem
 Overall, the session was very informative and insightful. We had initially set up the conference room at Tanoa Plaza International Hotel in a classroom structure but Mr Saneem suggested that we arrange the chairs close to each other and in a round-table discussion format. I thought this was cool as it allowed us to sit with him and listen to his Talanoa.

Talanoa Begins

Mr Saneem started the Talanoa by highlighting the current social cultural and socio economic context in Fiji, the role of governments in addressing the needs of the people, and some of the good progress and tangible changes that he observed overtime from when he was young to the Fiji of today. He then briefly talked about the National General Election and its role in effecting change in society and how it’s important for young people to participate in the whole process.

He said that youths can be candidates, polling agents, managing polling venues and most importantly youths needed to cast their vote. He mentioned that the youngest candidate is 21 years old.

He highlighted the role and the importance of youth to challenge the norms in society where some people always look at young people as immature, lack the experience and knowledge but overlooked the fact that young people are the torch bearers of the future, bring with them the energy, the excitement, dedication, willingness and the new ways of thinking to contribute positively to the development of society through the electoral process and beyond.

Saneem asked the youth leaders if they can stop being the biggest cheer leaders but advocate for their engagement in leadership position. He highlighted that the youngest polling venue manager in this year general election is an 18 years old individual who had participated well during the series of training they conducted Fiji.

He highlighted that some political parties objected to this saying that 18 years old is too young and should not be managing polling booths, to which he replied 18 years old is capable of doing and achieving anything provided they are trained and supported well.

SOE also highlighted and explained very briefly the electoral process, starting from voter registration, how the voting booth will be set up, how voting will take place, how the ballot papers will be managed before and after it has been used, how it will be stored, how voting and ballot papers will be monitored, how it will be counted, the role of polling agents and observers and how election results will be finalised and announced. All these information according to him is available in FEO website.

He also shared his concerns about the lack of interest from people to cast their votes during elections. He believed that some people registered with their office just for the sake of getting the voter ID cards and not necessarily to use it for voting during election day. He shared stories of a Bouncer from a Night Club in Suva who came to him with an envelope full of Fiji Voter ID card belonging to some young people who forgot to collect it from the Night Club Bouncer when they checked in. He mentioned that another person came to him with a box of voter ID card because people forgot to collect it after being served at the counter.

He also highlighted that out of the 9,000 plus people registered from overseas, only 400+ have applied for postal voting.

SOE responses to some our questions

If there is a Natural Disaster (God Forbid) then adjustments to the Fiji General Election may  happen and there are various factors such as severity of the natural disasters, recovery time etc will need to be considered in making any decisions in response to a crisis.

When asked about what could be some of the reasons for low voter turnout – he said that we just have to wait after the elections to learn about the reasons from the public about the electoral process. He said that in order for people to trust the process, political parties need to accept the final election results when it comes out. This spurred a lot of discussion and the youth leaders continued to be so inquisitive to learn about what can be done to address the low turnout that seems to be the trend in Fiji Elections. 

The SOE requested everyone to share one or two matters about what motivates them to go and cast their votes during election. Several young people spoke their minds and talked about things like employment opportunities, educations etc and Mr Saneem spoke about the benefits of voting and he gave an example of how he wrote a letter to the SDL government in 2006 requesting if the prize of "normal" meal in McDonalds can be reduced, and in that year, the Fiji Government actually reduced the prize of a meal serve from $7+ to $5+.

In my opinion, all the possible reasons given by the people as to why they don’t want to vote is valid, as they are sharing it from their owned lived experience. In order to address this, firstly, we need to organise this raw data into a body of knowledge through a proper and robust methodology, otherwise known as doing research about it, to investigate the factors influencing low turnout and the predisposing factors that influence the self-efficacy of the electorate in order to turn up and cast their votes during elections. Secondly, we need to organise the knowledge together to develop evidence-based strategies that would address this underlying issue of low turnout and the root causes through the construction of Theory of Change. This will also allow us to identify the critical assumptions that contributes to the success of the interventions, the risk that would hinder its success and also the partners and stakeholders that needs to work together to change the situation in terms of making strategic interventions that would increase the participation rate during the election day(s). In fact, I shared this with a friend who also attended this talanoa.

When asked about what’s the issue with the “Rock the Vote Campaign”, - he mentioned that under the Fiji campaign law no one is to engage in activities that bribe people to vote for them. It is illegal.

He added that Rock the Vote or Bring the Vote campaign is the US concept and it usually organised by Civil Society Organisations. He mentioned that CSO should be able to implement the concept in Fiji, but provided that apply for approval first from FEO just to make sure that everything about the program and/or project is in conformity to the current electoral laws of Fiji. He plead with the youths to encourage their friends and family to cast their votes during election.

Saneem described and explained the process of voting and what happens at different stages. He encouraged people to be observers and polling agents from their political parties to assist and observe the whole process. He highlighted that it’s important for polling agents and observers to be trained so that they know how to observe the process and don’t have to make unnecessary remarks. He also highlighted that he organised a similar talanoa with political parties to allow them to have accurate information about the whole electoral process.

We would have asked a lot of questions but the time was so short and we had to end the talanoa, have a group picture and enjoyed finger foods and network with everyone presents during the talanoa.

Young Fijians Discuss Corruption Issues and Voting Challenges in Upcoming Fiji National Elections 2022

Grace Konrote and Lati Shalom

With the writ for the Fiji National Elections 2022 expected any day soon (after the current Parliament has come to the end of its life – adjourned  sine dine), we did a talanoa discussion with high school and University student leaders on Tuesday 6 September, 2022. It was noted that the Global Corruption Barometer 2021 had recorded relatively low figures for political corruption but that Fijian youths should remain vigilant to ensure that these figures did not rise but brought further down. The GCB 2021 Survey for Fiji recorded that 4 percent were offered bribes in exchange for votes; 17 percent said that members of Parliament are corrupt, and 12 percent said that local government reps are corrupt. The youth leaders were inspired by the GCB 2021 findings that 83 percent of the Fijian public had expressed that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

Why were young people not enthusiastic about the upcoming 2022 Fiji National Elections? What can be done to overcome this lethargy? How can youths be encouraged to take active political roles?

 It was noted that in the 2018 Fiji National Elections only 62.79 percent of youths aged 18 to 20 had voted. The voting figure for those aged 21 to 30 was 60.4%. (In comparison, the voter turnout for those aged 41 to 50 was 81.73 percent and 74.7 percent for voters aged 31 to 40.) The FEO report noted that one of the 3 reasons for the low voter turnout was ‘disinterest.’

High school and University student leaders participating in our talanoa discussions said that they were bored, uninterested and not enthusiastic about Fiji Politics.

“Yes I have registered to vote but I am not sure if I’ll vote. I am not fired up by the candidates announced by parties. They look grog-doped and seem to be looking for work,” one Year 13 student said. “We need to see younger candidates.”

“We haven’t seen their manifestos. What are they offering young people in terms of jobs?” another Uni student asked.

A Year 12 girl from a prominent girl’s school piped up, “The opposition parties seem to be fighting amongst themselves.”

Her friend added, “They should unite and work together if they want to form the next government.”

Two students spoke up in support of the assistance provided by the Fiji First Government.

“But isn’t that a form of election bribery?” one male Year 13 student asked

“The writ of elections has not been announced yet. Campaigning has not yet started. This is Government assistance, not bribes,” one protested.

“But won’t the debt levels rise with all those handouts? Someone will end up paying for it in future,” the Year 13 boy persisted.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” another student said trying not to sound cynical while the rest laughed.

Do your parents discuss politics, elections, democracy with you?

All youths (with the exception of one) said that there were no discussions on these issues with their parents.

Yes, they had heard their parents griping about the economy, media freedom, health issues, politics and current affairs but the impression they got was that these discussions were only meant for the 4 walls of their homes. It was not meant to be aired outside their homes.

It seemed that discussions of Government political leaders was like talking about Lord Voldemort (the villain in the Harry Potter novels)– most parents dared not utter the names of the Honourable PM or AG in public (in a critical way).

“The walls have ears and what goes around comes around,” a student quipped trying to be funny.

Two students whose parents worked in senior government positions were emphatic that their parents would vote FijiFirst as they had done a lot of great things.

“But isn’t voting a secret thing that only the voter and God would know?’ another student asked. “Will they really vote for FF?”

The two students protested that they could not speak for God but were adamant that their parents would vote for the ruling party.

How can we change the mindset of youths and encourage them to vote?

It was suggested that manifestos should be presented with good illustrations (rather than the format of long technical essays.)

Promises should be costed and explanations should be provided on how it will be funded.

Party leaders and candidates should not mumble their words and speak clearly.

The date of the elections should be known 6 months in advance rather than being announced abruptly.

Free transport should be provided on election day.

Messages on encouraging young people to vote should also be done though films, songs, art and other creative ways.

Youths4Integrity is supported by Transparency International and will be organising more talanoa sessions and looking at creative ways of encouraging more young Fijians to vote.