Are official election results processed by an electronic tabulation system?
Fiji
Signing and posting of protocol of results
97.—(1) Following completion of the protocol of results, the presiding officer must sign it and immediately notify the Supervisor by the most expeditious method, including by telephone or any electronic means, of the results or the total number of votes cast for each candidate, as contained in the final protocol of results.
(2) A copy of the final protocol of results must be immediately posted by the presiding officer in a publicly accessible place at the polling station, such as a notice board, another copy kept inside the ballot box and a third copy sent to the Supervisor by the most expeditious method.
Division 8—Tabulation and Declaration of Results Authorised officials to conduct tabulation process
101.—(1) The process for tabulation of results received from each polling station must be conducted by the Supervisor at the Fijian Elections Office in Suva or such other publicly accessible place as designated by the Supervisor.
(2) Candidates, polling agents, observers, and the media must be given access to observe the tabulation process.
Tabulation process
102.—(1) The Supervisor shall prepare a National Results Tally, which shall record the total number of votes cast for each candidate at all the polling stations.
(2) The National Results Tally shall be conspicuously displayed (whether in electronic format or otherwise) to all persons who are present to observe the tabulation process.
(3) As the protocol of results are received from each polling station, in accordance with section 97(1) or (2), the Supervisor shall progressively amend the National Results Tally to reflect the total number of votes received by a candidate.
(4) In addition to displaying the number of votes received by each candidate, the Supervisor must ensure that the National Results Tally also progressively displays the total number of votes received by each political party, which shall be calculated by adding the total number of votes received by all the party candidates nominated by that political party.
Final National Results Tally
103.—(1) After the original of the final protocol of results are received from all the polling stations and after all the votes received by each candidate at each polling station is recorded on the National Results Tally, the Supervisor shall prepare the Final National Results Tally, which must contain the total number of votes received by each candidate and the total number of votes received by each political party.
(2) The Supervisor shall ensure that the party list of all the political parties in the Final National Results Tally is re-arranged in the descending order with the party candidate who received the most votes listed at the top of the party list, and, in the case where two or more candidates have received the same number of votes, then the ranking of these candidates as contained in the party list submitted under section 26 shall be followed.
Although it is not clearly specified by the legislation, it is assumed that electronic tabulation is not used, because the protocols of results are sent to the Supervisor by any means including by telephone.
