Pacific

Fiji parties query election supervisor appointment

11:06 am on 22 April 2014

The political group, the United Front for a Democratic Fiji, says the voters have a right to know why the permanent secretary for justice, Mohammed Saneem, was chosen as election supervisor when he was the least qualified among those 13 people who reportedly applied for the post.

The Front, which represents the parties ousted in the 2006 military coup, says applicants were expected to have preferrably 15 years experience in conducting an election and could demonstrate they could organise a one-day poll using best international practice.

The Front says it is not best international practice to choose a person who was not only too young to vote in the 2006 election, but has never participated in one, let alone managed one.

It says it wants to know on what recommendations Mr Saneem was appointed and whether he applied.

It also says it has come to its attention that neither Australia nor New Zealand recommended Mr Saneem for the job as claimed by the minister in charge of the election, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.