The Fijian Elections Office has clarified the circumstances surrounding a mock press release relating to the issuance of the Writ for the 2026 General Election, which has been circulated by media organisations and subsequently on social media.

For the avoidance of doubt, the information contained in the mock press release, including the date stated for the General Election, was entirely fictitious and created solely for the purposes of the Dress Rehearsal.

No Writ for the 2026 General Election has been issued.

The FEO says it is currently conducting a Writ to Return of Writ Dress Rehearsal as part of its preparations for the upcoming General Election.

The Dress Rehearsal requires FEO staff to test, review, finalise and lock in the various processes and activities that will be undertaken from the issuance of the Writ through to the Return of the Writ.

In a statement, FEO says as part of this exercise, the FEO tested its process for preparing and publishing press releases.

A mock Press Release on the Issuance of the Writ was created on the FEO website using fictitious information for the purposes of the simulation.

The FEO acknowledges that the required internal procedure for uploading test content
was not followed.

The matter has since been addressed internally, and measures are being taken to ensure that test materials used during the remainder of the Dress Rehearsal are appropriately contained.

The main purpose of conducting a Dress Rehearsal is to identify gaps and subsequently the necessary safeguards required to ensure they do not happen during the actual Election Period.

The FEO apologised for any confusion caused and assures all electoral stakeholders and more importantly members of the public that the matter has been addressed.