Citizens are advised that the Elections Office will only accept birth certificates as a mandatory requirement when accessing elections services.

by fonua talei

Mohammed Saneem.

The Fijian Elections Office is no longer accepting the use of married names on voter identification cards.

The advisory was given by the Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem yesterday following the opening of the new Voter Service Centre in Suva city.

Mr Saneem explained that some who have registered using their married names encounter problems later on at financial institutions when the name on the birth certificate does not match the name on the voter ID.

Citizens are also advised that the Elections Office will only accept birth certificates as a mandatory requirement when accessing elections services.

“One major requirement that we are now making compulsory is that for any service like a replacement of lost card or a new registration we would require voters to present their birth certificate as a mandatory requirement,” Mr Saneem said.

“With the shifting of the voter service centre to this location, if someone does not have their birth certificate they can just move across to the deaths, births and marriages centre to get one done.

“A lot of people have registered using their married names and now when they go to financial institutions they have to produce their birth certificates and that’s where the names do not match and so we are now making it mandatory to present your birth certificate at the time of registration or any other service and at the same time we are no longer accepting married names on voter cards we will only go by the name on your birth certificate.”

The new voter service centre is located at the Government Information and Referral Centre in Suva.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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