Social media has become a necessary tool for political campaigning in Fiji politics since the 2014 national elections. This was the same for the elections in 2018 and is proving to be the case for the 2022 national elections. Considering its expansion and access, it is important to examine Fiji’s digital landscape, its key stakeholders and its relevance to the anticipated 2022 national elections.
Fiji’s digital landscape
Out of Fiji’s estimated 884,887 total population, there are roughly a little over 676,000 active internet users in Fiji. This equates to around 76% of the population that are online and access the internet on any given day. Over the years, this expansion of online access has been fueled by the deregulation of Fiji’s communications market and the increasing affordability of handheld devices. In fact, there are more cellular mobile connections in Fiji than there are people, an estimated 1.3 million, compared to the 884,887 total population. This indicates that most Fijians have access to more than one cellular subscription and device to access the internet. Through these technological and communications conditions, more Fijians are not only able to access the internet but are also more adept at engaging a variety of online networking platforms. These social networking platforms include, but may not be limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. In total, social media access in Fiji is estimated to be around 649,000 total users.
Fijian Facebook
Out of these platforms, Facebook is the most accessed and utilised network in Fiji and generally across the Pacific. This is mainly due to Facebook’s longevity as a platform, technologically enabled access for devices that come with pre-installed apps and its flexible device access capabilities. Facebook in Fiji boasts over 550,000 active accounts for users over the age of 18. However, it is instructive to note that there are under 18-year-old users in Fiji, which pushes the estimates to over 580,000 active accounts. In essence, Facebook is the most populated platform in Fiji and effectively dominates Fiji’s social media landscape. Facebook in Fiji is dominated by its eligible voting youth, who are legislated to be within the age of 18-35. This group is estimated to be over 53% of the total Facebook users in Fiji. It is intriguing to note that there are now more female than male identified accounts in Fiji, with a ratio of 51%-49% distribution. Likewise, for the voting youth, female-identified accounts outnumber male-identified accounts by the same ratio. This shift in gender percentages online, marks an interesting trend that requires greater depth in research and examination.
How does this relate to the 2022 national elections?
It is evident that to reach, engage and sustain interaction with Fiji’s voting population, social media use is critical in political campaigning. This is especially so, given that as of the 31st of October, 2022, there are now 693,915 registered voters, out of which 684,467 are based in Fiji. It is likely that over 80% of those registered based in Fiji are accessible via Facebook. This is an important factor in Fiji’s elections because of the low voter turnout, especially in the 2018 national elections. As it is, the 2022 pre-election voter survey report indicated that around 52% of the respondents took ‘a little’ interest in politics. In addition, the 2018 General Election Voter Turnout and Survey Report, published in 2021, showed that that the two main youth age cohorts 18-20 and 21-30, were amongst the lowest in voter turnout percentages.
Mainstream media on social media
| Top Facebook pages |
| fijivillage |
| FBC News |
| Fiji One News |
| Fiji Sun |
| The Fiji Times |
| Rups Big Bear |
| Fijian Government |
| Jacks of Fiji |
| Fiji Police Force |
| Prouds – Fiji |
| Table 1: Adapted from Meta data – audience insights |
The role and significance of the mainstream media in Fiji is often understated and compounded by the country’s troubled political history. However, there is an interesting trend that has emerged from Fiji’s social media landscape which underscores the survival and adaptability of Fiji’s mainstream media. Five out of the 10 most widely accessed and active Facebook pages are mainstream media pages. This indicates that more and more Fijians are accessing their news through Facebook but specifically relying on media organisations’ Facebook pages. As such, the role of the media on social media is also going to be important in the upcoming elections.
It is evident that Fiji’s digital and social media landscape is quite expansive and heavily situated on Facebook as a platform. The youth, women and the mainstream media appear to be the key stakeholders for Fiji’s social media landscape. It will be interesting to see how the political parties will leverage these key stakeholders and issues in the lead up to the 2022 national elections.
TikTok and politics
Fiji’s political parties have turned to TikTok to woo younger voters.
In a People’s Alliance Party post, local actress and personality Shania Singh appears as her shopgirl character ‘Sanjeshni’ in a skit where she serves PAP leader Sitiveni Rabuka. The script manages to promote his candidate number, the PAP party colours and give voice to the concern of some voters around safety of Fiji’s Indo-Fijian community, all in one clever package.
The National Federation Party is using the platform to showcase key edits from candidate speeches, while the TikTok account of the Fiji Labour Party shows its leader Mahendra Chaudhry speaking on key campaign issues, and breaking into dance with young party members.
Prime Minister Bainimarama’s TikTok effort plays it straight, “I’m not here to dance, leadership is serious
business” before continuing, “you can’t dance your way out of a cyclone or pandemic”.
