Seven civil society organisations have come together to establish Fiji’s Citizens’ Observer Group, a national coalition that will support non-partisan domestic observation of the country’s future General Elections.

The Memorandum of Understanding establishing the group was signed today, bringing together organisations with different areas of expertise and community networks under a common framework for election observation.

The founding members are Caritas Fiji, Centre for Democracy and Dialogue, femLINKpacific, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding, Social Economic Empowerment Programme and Transparency International Fiji.

The group says its work will focus on strengthening electoral transparency, citizen participation and public confidence throughout the electoral cycle.

The initiative follows a formal request from the Fiji Government to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or International IDEA, for support in preparing local election observers for Fiji’s future General Elections.

International IDEA says domestic election observation allows trained citizens and civil society organisations to independently assess electoral processes based on evidence, while respecting the legal responsibilities of Fiji’s electoral institutions.

International IDEA will not itself observe the election.

Instead, it will provide technical assistance, capacity building and comparative international experience, while the Citizens’ Observer Group will independently determine its governance, activities, findings and public reporting.

International IDEA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Leena Rikkilä Tamang, says establishing the group is an important milestone in building sustainable domestic election observation capacity in Fiji.

She says the process will require cooperation between civil society organisations, government institutions and development partners.

Speaking on behalf of the Citizens’ Observer Group, Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding Executive Director Florence Swamy says the coalition brings together organisations with different expertise and community connections, but with a shared commitment to credible, peaceful and inclusive elections.

Following the signing, COG members will begin developing their governance arrangements, observer standards, training programmes, observation methodology and operational procedures.

International IDEA will support this work by drawing on international experience, including lessons from Mozambique, where it has supported civil society organisations with observer training, methodology development and coordination.

The group says professionalism, impartiality, integrity and inclusion will guide its work.

It also plans to engage development partners and other stakeholders to strengthen observer capacity and support greater public confidence in Fiji’s electoral processes.

The Citizens’ Observer Group will operate as an independent civil society coalition, with its findings and public reporting determined by the group itself.

By: Eparama Warua