Cart before the horse: Electoral Commission members announced before Electoral Act, to be led by Khaiyum chum, lawyer Chen Bunn Young and other regime lackeys

The members of the Electoral Commission that will supervise the 2014 general election have been announced.

The Commission is made up of seven prominent citizens from various walks of life headed by its Chair, leading legal practitioner Chen Bunn Young, who’s a former President of the Fiji Law Society.

The other members are academic Professor Vijay Naidu of USP, the tourism industry leader and marketing expert, James Sowane, accountant and financial advisor Jenny Seeto, the filmmaker and media specialist, Larry Thomas, electoral expert and priest, Father David Arms, and the educationalist and civil society leader, Alisi Daurewa.

The Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said each member of the Commission brings a unique perspective and set of skills to the task of supervising the first genuine democratic election in Fiji’s history.

“All of these outstanding individuals are credible, apolitical and together, will bring integrity to the Commission’s work. They will also make their individual contributions, whether it’s high- level legal expertise in the case of Chen Bunn Young, marketing expertise in the case of James Sowane, financial expertise in the case of Jenny Seeto, existing electoral expertise in the case of Father Arms, communications expertise in the case of Larry Thomas and the broad educational a social expertise of Professor Naidu and Alisi Daurewa”.

“I want to thank them all for accepting their roles on the Commission, which is a vital component of the Bainimarama Government’s plan to hold a free and fair election to the very highest international standards”, he said.

Under the terms of the 2013 Constitution, the Electoral Commission is responsible for the registration of voters and the conduct of free and fair elections. The Attorney General has also announced that it will soon be seeking applications for 34 key posts in the Office. They include the Deputy Supervisor of Elections, the Director of Electoral Procedures, the Director of Corporate Services and the Director of Communications.

The Supervisor of Elections will be appointed following the first meeting of the Electoral Commission which is expected to happen soon. Source: Fiji Government media release.

Young new chairman

In 2008, the Lautoka based lawyer Chen Bunn Young, a former president of the Fiji Law Society, represented the Judicial Services Commission, the late President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, Public Service Commission chairman Rishi Ram, Justice Nazhat Shameem and interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at the judicial review hearing where FLS was seeking review of the decision to appoint an acting Chief Justice - Justice Anthony Gates.

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Alisi Daurewa rewarded by Khaiyum, and joins her "distant ancestral cousin" Professor Vijay Naidu on the Electoral Commission

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Professor Vijay Naidu: No wonder he recently popped up in the Fiji Sun to wax praise for the new Electoral System

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