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Fiji imposed a strict media blackout on coverage of its first elections since the 2006 military coup yesterday.
The government warned journalists that they faced up to five years in jail if they did not comply.
The blackout over tomorrow’s poll also applies to political campaigning and election material such as posters or banners, as well as discussion on social media sites.
Fiji elections supervisor Mohammed Saneem insisted that “the blackout is there to protect the voter from incessant campaigning before polling so that the voter can decide without any influence or undue pressure.”
But Amnesty International executive director Grant Bayldon said he was concerned that “the authorities seem to have crossed the line when it comes to the media blackout currently in place.”
He said that no-one should face imprisonment solely for exercising freedom of expression, singling out a restriction that he said prevented any comment on legitimate allegations of electoral misconduct.
