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Fiji                                                                              Events


         Fijian Elections Office

         Virtual Quiz Competitions






               single online platform, thousand plus     Voter education is no longer posters and
               teams, 60 minutes marathon, and the    pamphlets galore, it needs to be something that is
        A winner takes all - that’s the Fijian Elections   more engaging, something exciting, something that
        Office, FEO ‘Know Your Election Quiz competition’.   appeals to young people. The idea is to make the
        The FEO took this new innovative approach to   electoral process more youth-friendly. Our concept
        engage with young voters in the election process in   was simple; to get young people to learn more
        between elections, and there was the prize money   about elections and in doing so encourage them to
        to it.                                        participate meaningfully in the electoral process.
           The FEO is responsible for the conduct of general   However, this feat needed to start somewhere but
        and other elections in Fiji. The FEO was established   more than that it had to be incentivized. Thus began
        as a permanent EMB to be operational throughout   the ‘Know Your Election Quiz’ competitions.
        the electoral cycle following the approval of the   In September 2020, the FEO launched the very
        Electoral Act, 2014. This was the first time for Fiji   first virtual quiz competition in commemoration
        to have a full-time EMB which would be mandated   of the International Day of Democracy. It was a
        with conducting voter registration, education, and   competition no less with cash prizes to be won
        awareness in between elections.               and the FEO had to ensure that above all else, the
                                                      competition was conducted in a fair and transparent
                                                      manner. A set of terms and conditions were drawn
                                                      up which prohibited FEO staff and their immediate
                                                      family members from participating.
                                                         As the competition was initially designed for
                                                      young people, it relied exclusively on social media
                                                      for its promotion and marketing. The Supervisor of
                                                      Elections announced the quiz competition during
                                                      a Facebook live feed and immediately after his
           After the 2018 Fijian General Election, the FEO   announcement registrations for the Quiz opened.
        for the first time conducted a voter turnout analysis   To maximize reach and participation, interested
        and followed it up with a nationwide post-election   individuals were required to form teams of two in
        voter survey. The results from the analysis and   order to participate in the Quiz competition. Over
        survey revealed that the youth as in voters aged   time, we had mother-son duos, father-daughter
        between 18-30 years had the lowest turnout. The   teams as well as spouses and friends who won the
        low turnout of young people in elections is not   competition.
        an issue that is unique to Fiji, many democracies   The teams registered themselves online and
        around the world are grappling with it as well and   registration was typically open for five days during
        global trends reflect the same. Nonetheless, it   which the FEO promoted the Quiz competition
        became more apparent that EMBs must continue to   vigorously on its social media platforms through
        find ways to make voter education more interesting   videos, live appearances from the Supervisor of
        and tap into opportunities to engage with young   Elections, infographics, and so forth. After the
        voters.                                       close of registrations, the FEO teams conducted



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