The Supervisor of Elections has referred Mr Haroon Ali Shah to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption [‘FICAC’] for breach of Section 144 of the Electoral Act.

Earlier this week, the Supervisor had issued a Notice to Mr Shah to correct a statement that he had made at a Fiji Labour Party campaign rally when he ought to have known the same to be false.

In any event, the Supervisor of Elections had forwarded Mr Shah with direct clarifications from the Government Tender Board sighting various laws and processes which sufficiently proves that Mr Shah’s statement was false.

The Supervisor had given Mr Shah a deadline to comply and he failed to do so and as such the breach has now been referred to FICAC for its necessary actions.

“This incident shows a flagrant disregard for electoral laws and also shows the lack of internal controls within the Fiji Labour Party and its representatives. To date, the Fiji Labour Party, which is also apprised of the accuracy of the facts in relation to the issue, has not made any clarifications as well and this is appalling,” the Supervisor said.

The FEO calls on all political parties and their representatives to ensure that the information that they convey to the members of the public during campaign is accurate and substantiated by evidence and facts for a free and fair 2022 General Election.