Fiji

Fiji, ID, vote, voter

All in: Second round of Fiji biometric voter enrollment closes

Fiji 

Fiji’s Voter Registration Breaks Half a Million (Press Release – PR Newswire)

Fiji has marked another significant milestone in its path to true parliamentary democracy with the announcement that more than half a million Fijians have registered to vote in the scheduled elections in 2014. The 504,588 registered Fijian voters represent more than 80% of the estimated number of eligible voters, and registration will continue in 2013, notably for Fijians living overseas.
…
Registration will now close while the Elections Office processes the new registrations and cleanses the list of fraudulent or duplicate entries. After the first round of registration, 30 trained clerks scrutinised the voter list and removed 1,441 problematic entries. “The easy and quick identification of these problematic entries is proof that the Electronic Registration System does exactly what it is meant to do,” the Attorney-General said.

Back in September, we noted that “close to half a million” (488,734) Fijians had registered in the biometric voter ID system. That figure represented about 80% of the eligible population, so it’s not surprising that enrollment is leveling off. There aren’t that many people left to enroll.

The voter ID will also be valid for access to a range of other government services. (Fiji Times)

Fiji, ID, vote, voter

80% of Fiji Adults Register for Biometric Voter Enrollment In Two Weeks

Close to Half a Million Fijians Register During First Phase of Registration (Republic of Fiji Press Release)

Almost half a million have registered to vote in the first wave of electronic voter registration (EVR) for the 2014 elections. This represents around 80 percent of current eligible domestic voters, with another period of registration to come later in the year, and the first registrations of Fijians living abroad to begin next year.

At the close of the first phase of sixty-one days, 488,734 Fijians registered at Voter Registration Centers (VRCs) that were open in locations across the country.

“This is a great achievement as Fiji moves toward parliamentary elections in 2014,” the Attorney-General and Minister Responsible for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“The overwhelming turn-out of the Fijian people is a clear indication of their willingness and commitment to participate in the process of building a better Fiji for all.”

“A Fiji that provides the legal and moral foundation for a common and equal citizenry. Where there is no legal obligation to vote along ethnic lines, but where every Fijian over the age of 18 has an equal vote to cast as they choose.”

I believe there are also other reasons why Fijians have so eagerly adopted biometric voter registration. Because it is secured with biometrics, the voter registration card is being accepted as a credible for of ID by all sorts of government ministries. Can private sector entities be far behind?

Fiji 

The CIA World Factbook estimates Fiji’s population in 2012 at 890,057 and estimates that approximately 29% of the population is younger than fifteen years old. So that’s 489,734 enrollments among the over-fourteen population of around 633,000.

Fiji, ID, national ID, vote, voter

Fiji: Biometric Voter ID Being Used for all Sorts of Transactions

It’s like UID in reverse.

Ministry to accept voter cards as valid ID (Fiji Times)

THE Voter Identification Cards (VIC) issued through the electronic voter registration identification cards will be accepted as a valid form of identification by the Ministry of Justice by November 15.

Any Fijian who has registered to vote and who possesses a VIC will be able to access services provided by the Registrar of Titles Office, the Births, Deaths & Marriages Registry, the Companies Office (which includes the Moneylenders Registry) and the Official Receiver’s Office.

Read the whole thing. You’re half-way there already. By calling it UID in reverse I make no comparison between Fiji & India. Fiji has less than a million people and you can’t walk there from anywhere else. It’s just that, rather than develop one ID that can do everything. Fiji developed an ID for one purpose (elections) that has broad applicability to other ID tasks.

Fiji
elections, Fiji, vote, voter

Fiji Biometric Voter Registration Update

Voter Registration in Fiji one-third of the way to target (Republic of Fiji Press Release)

Fiji’s Electronic Voter Registration (EVR) is now more than one-third of the way to reaching the Government’s target of registering 600,000 Fijians. At the end of the third week of EVR, the total stands at 211,291.

“We are happy that momentum is continuing to grow for voter registration,” the Attorney-General and Minister Responsible for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said. “EVR is now in full stride as we continue to open new registration centers across the country.”

In order to reach the 600,000 mark, an average of 10,000 Fijians a day must register over the course of the 60-day registration period. As of Sunday, July 22, EVR has averaged slightly more than 10,550 a day, a figure that includes totals for the first week when only a limited number of registration centers were open.

Fiji
Fiji, vote, voter

Fiji Gearing Up for Biometric Voter Registration

Elections office to start registration training soon (Fiji Times)

People will be encouraged to report to the VRC close to them for registration. Registration of one person will not take more than three minutes. This will include the filling out of appropriate forms, picture taken through web camera, identification of thumb print and the printing out of identification card. This identification card will be presented to the polling station during election in 2014.

Source: CIA World Factbook – Fiji