The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) today requested Facebook to shut down an account known by the name of “Jay Jay” on the social media platform for “spreading misinformation on candidate numbers for the elections.” 

In a statement, the FEO noted concerted attempts, particularly on Facebook and TikTok, to misrepresent the number of candidates “so as to mislead voters into marking the ballot paper for a different candidate as opposed to the candidate one wishes to vote for.”

“Since the Fijian Election is completely based on the numbers that candidates are assigned when it comes to marking the ballot paper, it is absolutely important that the numbers of the candidates handed to the voters are correct and not misrepresented. Such matters are serious and go to the heart of the election,” the FEO said.

“The FEO considers that, as social media platforms, Facebook and TikTok must pay more attention to such postings simply to uphold the integrity of the entire election.”

It is also considering referring such matters to relevant authorities.

“On this note, the FEO invites the political parties, candidates and members of the public to report such nature of matters on our Center for Credible Election information website, should they find any profile or any person spreading candidate numbers that are incorrect, as this will assist FEO in taking necessary actions,” Supervisor of Elections Mr Mohammed Saneem said.