Tailevu North Ovalau (Open Constituency, Fiji)

Tailevu North Ovalau Open is a former electoral division of Fiji, one of 25 open constituencies that were elected by universal suffrage (the remaining 46 seats, called communal constituencies, were allocated by ethnicity). Established by the 1997 Constitution, it came into being in 1999 and was used for the parliamentary elections of 1999, 2001, and 2006. It comprised the island of Ovalau and the northern part of Tailevu Province, on the main island of Viti Levu.

The 2013 Constitution promulgated by the Military-backed interim government abolished all constituencies and established a form of proportional representation, with the entire country voting as a single electorate.

Election results In the following tables, the primary vote refers to first-preference votes cast. The final vote refers to the final tally after votes for low-polling candidates have been progressively redistributed to other candidates according to pre-arranged electoral agreements (see electoral fusion), which may be customized by the voters (see instant run-off voting).

1999 CandidatePolitical partyVotes(primary)%Votes(final)%Ratu Tu'uakitau CokanautoFijian Association Party (FAP)6,56347.707,34853.41Adi Litia CakobauSoqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT)3,01521.91......Viliame SausauwaiNationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP)2,36817.216,41146.59Josefa VosanibolaChristian Democratic Alliance (VLV)1,80313.10......Mani Lal PatelNational Federation Party100.07......Total13,759100.0013,759100.00Note that Sausauwai was initially declared the winner of the seat, but a recount conducted by the High Court subsequently awarded it to Cokanauto.

2001 CandidatePolitical partyVotes(primary)%Votes(final)%Josefa VosanibolaSoqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL)4,22433.158,52766.91Viliame SausauwaiConservative Alliance (CAMV)3,65628.694,24733.33Mitieli VodonaivaluNew Labour Unity Party (NLUP)1,34110.52......Tu'uakitau CokanautoIndependent1,2569.86......Jo NacolaSoqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT)1,2459.77......Watisoni WaqaiceceFiji Labour Party (FLP)8016.29......Josaia WaqavouNationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP)2511.97......Total12,744100.0012,744100.00

2006 CandidatePolitical partyVotes%Josefa VosanibolaSoqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL)7,34251.16Josefa DulakiverataIndependent2,80019.51Tomasi TokalauvereFiji Labour Party (FLP)1,76912.33Isoa Gonenicolo TamaniIndependent1,58511.04Aisake BukavesiNationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP)8495.92Total14,351100.00

Sources Psephos - Adam Carr's electoral archive Fiji Facts