FEO says mock election release was part of rehearsal

The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) has apologised after a mock press release announcing the issuance of the Writ for the 2026 General Election was circulated by media organisations and later shared on social media, clarifying that it formed part of an internal election rehearsal.

The FEO said it is currently conducting a Writ to Return of Writ Dress Rehearsal to test and finalise processes that will be used from the issuance of the Writ through to its return during the next General Election.

As part of the exercise, the office tested its procedures for preparing and publishing media releases by creating a mock announcement on its website using fictitious information.

The FEO stressed that all details contained in the release, including the General Election date, were entirely fictitious and created solely for the purposes of the rehearsal.

It confirmed that no Writ for the 2026 General Election has been issued.

The office acknowledged that the required internal procedure for uploading test content had not been followed.

It said the matter had since been addressed internally and measures were being put in place to ensure test materials used during the remainder of the rehearsal were appropriately contained.

The FEO said the purpose of the dress rehearsal was to identify gaps in its systems and implement safeguards before the actual election period.

It apologised for any confusion caused and assured electoral stakeholders and the public that the issue had been addressed.