12 January 2022
In the 2018 General Election, the Fijian Elections Office [FEO] as well as the Multinational Observer Group had noted with concern some instances of social media pages being created and intentionally used to proliferate misinformation. While the MOG commended the Fijian electoral authorities for its efforts to identify these sites (mostly on Facebook) and have them removed, the FEO will be going one step further to counter misinformation and engineered disinformation through the establishment of the Centre for Credible Election Information.
Supervisor of Elections Mr Mohammed Saneem said this new initiative would serve as a virtual hub for all electoral and election related information in Fiji and it would add to the ongoing voter education and information work being done by the FEO. The Centre for Credible Election Information will part of FEO’s public relations campaign in the 2022 General Election.
The objectives of the Centre for Credible Election Information are to:
- Produce and publish information on the 2022 General Election;
- Support the Fijian Elections Office publications framework in terms of dissemination of credible election information; and
- Actively provide clarifications and responses to information that is either misleading or incorrect in relation to the election processes and work with agencies to remove misinformation from various platforms including the application of Section 144 of the Electoral Act 2014.
As per Section 144A.-(1) of the Electoral Act 2014, a person or a political party must not publish any information in or outside Fiji and is accessible in Fiji, knowing or having reason to believe the information is a false statement which is likely to influence the outcome of an election or diminish public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of the Supervisor and the Electoral Commission.
Section 144 (A) (2) empowers the Supervisor to direct a person, including a service provider, or a political party to remove or correct any statement or information published under subsection (1) and the person must immediately remove or correct the statement or information.
“Following the establishment of the Centre, the FEO will embark on a national campaign to raise awareness and educate Fijians on countering misinformation, false news and disinformation especially those propagated through social media ahead of the 2022 General Election,” Mr Saneem explained.
“It is widely accepted that one of the best ways to counter mis-information is through publication of credible information. This section in the FEO will carry this specific mandate.”
The Electoral Commission, at its Election Communications Workshop, held at the Mariott from 22 to 26 November 2021 had unanimously endorsed the proposal for such an initiative to be undertaken.
The FEO is now building a team to oversee the establishment and operation of the Centre and have the following opportunities:
- Coordinator- Centre for Credible Election Information
- Web Development & Support Officer
We will be opening these vacancies on Friday, 14 January 2022 and interested individuals can apply through jobs.feo.org,fj.
-Ends-
