Saneem: I will not apologise
POLICE are investigating the alleged vandalism of FijiFirst party campaign materials in some parts of the country.
This was confirmed by police chief of intelligence and investigations Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Surend Sami yesterday.
He said they received a report and were investigating the matter.
Speaking at a rally at the Syria Park in Nausori on Wednesday, party leader Voreqe Bainimarama said party campaign materials had been vandalised in Tavua and Nausori.
He said the offenders were caught via CCTV and had been taken into police custody.
“I warn you that FijiFirst party will be the target because we have many supporters, they will try to divide us,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“Our buses and cars that had our party stickers and banners were stoned and political party banner vandalised in Tavua and Nausori.
“We have an enemy among us, the sign that this enemy is here is how our buses and banners were vandalised, and that is a sign.”
He said they were confident that they will win the 2022 General Election.
SUPERVISOR of Elections (SOE) Mohammed Saneem says he will not apologise to Unity Fiji candidate Mohammed Riyaz Khan as it would indicate malice by the Fijian Elections Office (FEO).
Mr Khan had called on the SOE to issue a public apology after the FEO rejected his nomination because of an alleged previous criminal conviction.
He appealed the decision to the Electoral Commission and provided a court judgment which showed no conviction was entered.
The Unity Fiji candidate said the FEO’s actions, which was widely reported in the media, had discredited his character.
“These sorts of mistakes are unwarranted and uncalled for.
“And as I’ve said, yes, they should apologise to me and the party,” Mr Khan said.
He claimed that if the FEO had done their due diligence properly, the issue could have been prevented.
However, in his response to Mr Khan, the SOE said that he (Khan) should have got his police clearance first.
“When the nominations came, we processed it with whatever data was in the records of our stakeholder verification, if he knew he had a case in which his conviction had been quashed or had been not recorded, he should have informed us earlier,” Mr Saneem said.
He said Mr Khan’s police record showed he had a conviction and it was only after the appeal was filed that the FEO learnt there was no conviction as per the court judgment.
“You will see our letter to the Electoral Commission providing information actually says yes, we support the appeal and the conduct and appeal.
“The person’s nomination needs to be upheld.
“So if I have, if he wants an apology, that means we have some malice, there is no malice in this.”
Mr Saneem said had Unity Fiji submitted their nominations earlier, the matter would have been referred back to the party as was done with other parties.
“But it was the very last day — it was a very disorganised nomination in the first place.
“So unfortunately, it happened as it happened. Mr Khan should now get his conviction removed from the police record first.”
We have an enemy among us, the sign that this enemy is here
is how our buses ... were vandalised
– Voreqe Bainimarama