Old photos used to spread false Fiji election claim

^{By Sonam Thomas}

Allegations of election tampering have continued to circulate online following Fiji’s national election on December 14.

Photos shared on Facebook purport to show Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a ballot paper printing facility less than two weeks before the election. 

The images started circulating on social media after the National Federation Party (NFP) alleged Mr Sayed-Khaiyum visited Star Printery in Suva on December 1.  

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum is seen as a powerbroker for the incumbent Fiji First government led by Prime Minister Josaia Vorge Bainimarama. The NFP, in coalition with the People's Alliance party, is considered a threat to Fiji First.

An ABC report says the NFP, in a letter to the supervisor of elections (SOE), claimed Mr Sayed-Khaiyum was asked to leave the facility because election ballots were being printed, but he refused until the SOE had arrived.

According to the news report, the NFP said the premises were meant to be “highly secure”, but that was not the case if the attorney-general could enter the facility and refuse to leave.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum strongly denied the claims that he had visited the facility on December 1. 

“I was actually in Labasa. Those of you who follow my Facebook page will see that I have got a post, I've got a photograph leaving Labasa airport on the morning flight,” he said at a press conference. 

After the NFP’s allegations were aired, social media users started posting photos showing Mr Sayed-Khaiyum at the Star Printery. But the photos date back to 2019.

A reverse image search reveals the images were taken during a visit to the facility on December 4, 2019 for the launch of the centre’s new capacity to manufacture and print various paper products. The visit is documented in the Fiji Sun newspaper where one of the images was published.

A video of the visit was also published on YouTube by the Fijian Government and matches the composition of the images. 

The NFP did not claim the images depicted the alleged 2022 incident, but other social media users have. 

A Facebook user who posted one of the photos said: “#SOE u denied AG was at the star Printers What’s this pic about ?? Here we have AG at the premises.”

The supervisor of elections, Mohammad Saneem, reportedly held a press conference on December 6 where he described the allegations as “the highest degree of misinformation”. 

"I am flabbergasted by your allegations around the information you purport to have received that I have come to any scene,” he said. “I wish to confirm that no such activity ever took place," he said according to an ABC report.

According to the Fijian Elections Office, the printing of election ballots concluded on 29 November, two days prior to the alleged incident at Star Printery.

AAP FactCheck has also assessed the claim as false.

In the latest development, opposition party leaders have called for a halt to vote counting and an audit of the country's electoral system following a “glitch” in an app used to upload election results.

With ballots still coming in from outer islands and remote villages, the vote count was not complete at the time of publication.