The National Federation Party has been referred to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption for breach of Section 144A of the Electoral Act 2014.
On 26th July 2022, the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem had issued a Notice to the General Secretary of NFP to remove a video from the NFP Facebook page which contained false information.
Saneem says the video contained a false statement or information that was designed to mislead Fijians into believing that the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme is a form of slavery and that students will not be able to travel overseas unless their guarantors have cleared their debts.
The NFP was informed that the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme Regulations 2022 have clearly laid out the policies for Loan Repayment and Permission to Travel Abroad in sections 27 and 30 respectively.
Saneem says despite the fact that the video was made in 2018 and given that it is publicly posted on the NFP Facebook Page, it continues to present opportunities to mislead people.
The Supervisor had given NFP a deadline to comply and they failed to do so and as such the breach has now been referred to FICAC for its necessary actions.
Saneem says NFP’s refusal to remove the video from its Facebook page shows a flagrant disregard for electoral laws and also proves that they are willing to promote false statements to the public.
