Saneem Master’s Thesis Success
Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has successfully defended his Masters in Electoral Policy and Administration thesis. Titled ‘The establishment of a permanent election management body in Fiji and its impact on the transparency and credibility of elections’, Mr Saneem earlier this week presented his thesis to a distinguished panel of academics namely; Professor Andreas De-Grutty, Melvis Ndiloseh, Svetlana Chetaika, Marybelle Cherfan and his Supervisor, Robert Gerenge.
He started his online Master’s Programme in September 2020 with the Scoula Sant’Anna University in
Pisa, Italy.
Research focus
Mr Saneem said his research focused on the administration of elections and the performance of the Office of the Supervisor of Elections in 2006 in terms of Voter Registration, Polling Venue Management and Voter Education as against the Fijian Elections Office in 2018.
He said for the thesis, he decided to compile a comparative analysis o f the 2006 General Election and the 2018 General Election from observer reports to make a final determination.
“Having successfully run two general elections in Fiji and having established the Fijian Elections Office from the ground up, I took this programme with a very open mind. Many said, ‘what else is there to learn?’, but for me it was an opportunity to deepen my knowledge and skills in elections.
“There is always something to learn. The programme is very well structured to introduce a new person to election management and at the same time will challenge a seasoned election professional.”
High grade
He said at the end of defending his thesis, he was happy to be told by the panel that the thesis was given a very high grade.
He said Election Management is a highly specialised field and while very few get to work in it, there is even less literature that is developed in terms of election administration.
“I am glad that Anaseini Senimoli, Director Operations from the FEO is also undertaking this course and I look forward to her dissertation.”
He acknowledged the almighty for his blessings, the Australian Government for partially funding the fees and the team at the FEO.
He also acknowledged his wife and children for their support.
Mr Saneem says he now looks forward to the 2022 General Election.