A staff checks the names on the voters list during the general elections at a polling station in Fiji's capital city Suva on Dec 14, 2022. (SAEED KHAN / AFP)
SUVA – The general elections are being held in Fiji on Wednesday to elect 55 members to the parliament of the South Pacific island country.
According to the Fijian Elections Office (FEO), polling has started in 855 venues around the country with 343 candidates from nine political parties, including the ruling FijiFirst party and two independents, vying for a seat in the parliament.
The Fijian Elections Office anticipates the final results of the general elections to be announced by Sunday
Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has confirmed that as of 9 am local time (0900 GMT Tuesday), all polling stations around the island country are open and fully operational.
A total of 693,915 voters in Fiji were registered for this year's general elections, with 9,916 having applied for postal ballot. A total of 77,907 Fijians were registered to vote for pre-polling last week. However, only 54,244 Fijians cast their votes.
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Polling is scheduled to end at 6 pm local time (0600 GMT) on Wednesday.
The Fijian Elections Office anticipates the final results of the general elections to be announced by Sunday.
Fiji, an island nation with a population of around 900,000, held its last general elections in 2018.