Fiji election authorities reject concerns

Fiji's election authorities have rejected the concerns of opposition parties, who have questioned their ability to deliver free and fair elections.

The country was due to hold its second elections since the 2006 coup, but a date was yet to be announced.

At a forum in Suva this week, the leaders of six opposition parties criticised both the Elections Office and the Electoral Commission.

The elections' supervisor, Mohammed Saneem, said his office had nothing to hide, while the chair of the Electoral Commission, Suresh Chandra, said he was alarmed by "outrageous and unsubstantiated" comments.

The opposition party leaders said they had little confidence that there would be free and fair elections, and that both bodies are yet to implement the recommendations of a Multinational Observer Group.

That group said the 2014 elections - the first under a new constitution - were largely free and fair, despite compressed timeframes, a complex system and several restrictions on media and public gatherings.