A former Fiji Labour Party (FLP) candidate convicted of using State resources to campaign has had his eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
Ajay Nand was found guilty by Magistrate Thomson Lee in the Nausori Magistrate’s Court after finding that on or about December 5, 2022, Nand conducted campaign activities and distributed FLP campaign flyers inside the Korovou Police Station, a public office and State resource.
The court noted that Nand entered the police station, introducing himself as a former police officer who had held the rank of inspector, and informed officers present that he was an FLP candidate.
Magistrate Lee found that Nand possessed campaign flyers and that his conduct, both directly and indirectly, constituted campaigning within a police station, which is the use of a State resource for campaign purposes.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the Electoral Act 2014, Nand’s conviction disqualifies him from being registered as a voter or voting in any election for a period of two years from the date of sentencing.
Both parties have 28 days to appeal the sentence.
