Ex-FLP candidate gets suspended jail term for campaigning at police station

A former Fiji Labour Party (FLP) candidate has been sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, after being convicted of using a State resource for election campaigning.

Ajay Nand was sentenced by the Nausori Magistrate Court after being found guilty of one count under Section 113(4) of the Electoral Act 2014.

The court heard that on December 5, 2022, Nand entered the Korovou Police Station and distributed FLP campaign flyers while conducting campaign activities inside the government facility.

Delivering the sentence, Resident Magistrate Thomson Lee said the prosecution had proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt after considering the evidence presented during the trial.

The Magistrate said Nand introduced himself to officers at the station as a former police inspector and identified himself as an FLP candidate.

He was carrying campaign flyers, and the court found that his actions, whether direct or indirect, amounted to campaigning inside a police station, which constituted the use of a State resource for election campaigning.

Along with the suspended prison sentence, Nand has also been disqualified from registering as a voter or voting in any election for two years from the date of sentencing under Section 151 of the Electoral Act 2014.

Both the prosecution and defence have 28 days to appeal the decision.

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