The Commission of Inquiry into the 2006 elections reveals that a few candidates and party officials noticed alleged vote buying tactics before last year's polls.

In one of the cases, a candidate for the Kadavu Fijian seat, Sir James Ah Koy detailed his experience of travelling to the outer islands for campaigning. The report reveals that Ah Koy and his fellow campaign workers were staying the night in what they thought was a 'hardware shop'. Ah Koy told the Commission of Inquiry team made up of GP Lala, Taufa Vakatale and Doctor David Neilson, that he and his campaign workers were surrounded by outboard motors, cane knives and agricultural implements.

Ah Koy claims that he later found out that the implements were being distributed through the Agriculture Ministry and were party gifts to the voters. Ah Koy thought that the 30 million dollars agricultural vote buying endeavor of 2001 had continued during the 2006 elections.

In another case, Labour Party candidate in Nadi, Bijay Prasad detailed his experience of road humps. He referred to a village that had been requesting road humps outside their village for some years. Prasad claims that in the week of the elections, the Prime Minister campaigned in the village and within that week, road humps had been installed.

A Labour representative, Maika Moroca also referred to various road upgrading that began just before and continued during the elections but were abandoned as soon as the election was over.

The commission said indicative evidence suggests that there was more than just unintentional bias associated with the 2006 election. They expressed deep concern about the number of reported incidents that indicate serious intentional corruption, especially around vote buying, vote casting and vote counting.

It also expresses concern about the serious and unacceptable blurring by the SDL of the distinctions between party, government and the broader state during the 2006 elections and throughout the whole SDL period of governance from 2001 to 2006.

The Election Inquiry report has been given to the PM's Office, the SDL and FLP for their responses before it is released to the people of Fiji.