Page 13 - IBs November 2022

Fiji Votes
SOCIAL MEDIA AND FIJI’S 2022

NATIONAL ELECTION

By Jope Tarai total Facebook users in Fiji. It is intriguing to note that there
are now more female than male identified accounts in Fiji,
Social media has become a necessary tool for political with a ratio of 51%-49% distribution. Likewise, for the voting
campaigning in Fiji’s politics since the 2014 national elections. youth, female-identified accounts outnumber male-identified
This was the same for the elections in 2018 and is proving to accounts by the same ratio. This shift in gender percentages
be the case for the 2022 national elections. Considering its online, marks an interesting trend that requires greater depth
expansion and access, it is important to examine Fiji’s digital in research and examination.
landscape, its key stakeholders and its relevance to the antici-
pated 2022 national elections. How does this relate to the 2022 national elections?
It is evident that to reach, engage and sustain interaction
Fiji’s digital landscape with Fiji’s voting population, social media use is critical in
Out of Fiji’s estimated 884,887 total population, there are political campaigning. This is especially so, given that as of
roughly a little over 676,000 active internet users in Fiji. This the 31st of October, 2022, there are now 693,915 registered
equates to around 76% of the population that are online and voters, out of which 684,467 are based in Fiji. It is likely that
access the internet on any given day. Over the years, this over 80% of those registered based in Fiji are accessible via
expansion of online access has been fueled by the deregu- Facebook. This is an important factor in Fiji’s elections be-
lation of Fiji’s communications market and the increasing cause of the low voter turnout, especially in the 2018 national
affordability of handheld devices. In fact, there are more elections. As it is, the 2022 pre-election voter survey report
cellular mobile connections in Fiji than there are people, an indicated that around 52% of the respondents took ‘a little’
estimated 1.3 million, compared to the 884,887 total popula- interest in politics. In addition, the 2018 General Election
tion. This indicates that most Fijians have access to more than Voter Turnout and Survey Report, published in 2021, showed
one cellular subscription and device to access the internet. that that the two main youth age cohorts 18-20 and 21-30,
Through these technological and communications conditions, were amongst the lowest in voter turnout percentages.
more Fijians are not only able to access the internet but are The role and significance of the mainstream media in Fiji is
also more adept at engaging a variety of online networking often understated and compounded by the country’s troubled
platforms. These social networking platforms include, but may political history. However, there is an interesting trend that
not be limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, has emerged from Fiji’s social media landscape which un-
Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. In total, social media derscores the survival and adaptability of Fiji’s mainstream
access in Fiji is estimated to be around 649,000 total users. media. Five out of the 10 most widely accessed and active
Facebook pages are mainstream media pages. This indicates
Fijian Facebook that more and more Fijians are accessing their news through
Out of these platforms, Facebook is the most accessed and Facebook but specifically relying on media organisations’
utilised network in Fiji and generally across the Pacific. This is Facebook pages. As such, the role of the media on social me-
mainly due to Facebook’s longevity as a platform, technologi- dia is also going to be important in the upcoming elections.
cally enabled access for devices that come with pre-installed It is evident that Fiji’s digital and social media landscape is
apps and its flexible device access capabilities. Facebook in quite expansive and heavily situated on Facebook as a plat-
Fiji boasts over 550,000 active accounts for users over the form. The youth, women and the mainstream media appear
age of 18. However, it is instructive to note that there are to be the key stakeholders for Fiji’s social media landscape. It
under 18-year-old users in Fiji, which pushes the estimates will be interesting to see how the political parties will lever-
to over 580,000 active accounts. In essence, Facebook is the age these key stakeholders and issues in the lead up to the
most populated platform in Fiji and effectively dominates 2022 national elections.
Fiji’s social media landscape. Facebook in Fiji is dominated by
its eligible voting youth, who are legislated to be within the editor@islandsbusiness.com
age of 18-35. This group is estimated to be over 53% of the

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”.

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