Former Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka said the electoral reform proposed by Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama regarding the right to vote for only one candidate, irrespective of race or religion should be studied carefully.

Rabuka said widespread consultations with the citizens of Fiji should be done first, to get their ideas and views, and the interim government should not rush into things to make it law.

Commodore Bainimarama told the 62nd UN General Assembly that his regime will look at making the necessary legal changes in the area of electoral reform, to ensure true equality at the polls. He said at present, all citizens have the right to vote for two candidates, one for a national seat of any ethnicity and another from a communal raced based seat and this in turn has kept the races apart.

He said this must change and every person will be given the right to vote for only one candidate, irrespective of race. Bainimarama said this will send a message out to the people that Fiji's leadership no longer tolerates racial divisions and race based politics.

The Interim Prime Minister has further stated that electoral reform in this respect will be looked at by a National Council for Building a Better Fiji which is designed to entrench the very principle on which the UN was founded. Bainimarama also said that the draft People's Charter that will emerge from such a national level undertaking, will provide the political and governance framework, with effective supporting and functioning institutions, to make Fiji a truly democratic and progressive nation.