General Election, 14 November 2018

Flooding, 10–14 November 2018 

Fiji has a high degree of vulnerability to climate change and increasing risk of extreme weather events such as wildfires, droughts, excessive rainfall and floods. 27 per cent of Fijians live within one kilometre of the coast and sea-level rises are already causing internal migrations (UNDP/IDES 2025). Between 10 and 14 November 2018, Fiji saw prolonged heavy rainfall affecting the Central Division. The highest recorded levels of rain in the division were 116–203mm on 11 November (Fiji Meteorological Service, 2019).  

Impact on the electoral process 

Fiji’s general elections came during the latter stages of this extreme weather event, on 14 November. 25 polling stations were closed, affecting approximately 7,500 registered voters (FEO 2019) – a decision made by the Fiji Election Office (FEO) on the afternoon of election day, once voting had started. Initially, buses were provided to make it easier to transport voters to the polling stations. However, this measure did not significantly increase participation as many of the roads leading to the polling stations were flooded (Graue 2018; RNZ 2018). 

Three days after election day, the 25 closed polling stations in Korouvu, Rakiraki, Nausori, and Levuka, were able to accommodate voters (Nakagawa 2020). An additional 8,900 ballots were printed for this purpose and the customary 48-hour blackout period for media was extended until all polling stations had closed on 17 November (FEO 2019). 

Voter turnout was 71.92 per cent, a decrease compared to the 2014 election which saw a turnout of 84.6 per cent (International IDEA n.d.). On 17 November, a total of 4,853 people affected by the postponement voted (FEO 2019). The floods and postponements have been pointed out as the main reasons for the drop in turnout (Nakagawa 2020).