i know most people outside the south pacific probably dont know a whole lot about Fiji besides it being a (once great) holiday destination, but there are some lolz there.... it's run by a military dictator who took control via a coup in 04 this story happened recently... Code: Fiji TV apologises over personality vote Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama has won an apology from the country's free to air broadcaster after it ran a personality competition in which he came second. Fiji TV subsequently changed the result of the text vote to give Bainimarama the winning personality of the year award and stripping it from the original winner, Premila Kumar of the Consumer Council. Bainimarama, who ended democracy with an armed coup in 2006 and refuses to restore democracy until 2014, said the poll was undemocratic. He claimed Fiji TV closed the competition a day early and did not count 1500 votes that had all come in for him later. Anti-regime blog sites claim those votes came in from two mobile phones used by the military. When Kumar's win was announced on January 1, the regime's attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum complained to the Commerce Commission and also ordered an inquiry by the military created Media Development Authority "in respect of unethical practices". Fiji TV changed the result on January 7. On Friday Commerce Commission chairman Mahendra Reddy ruled Fiji TV had breached a military commerce decree and demanded it issue a public apology during the top segment of its news broadcast. It has carried the apology this weekend. He ordered that all money made on the promotion be given back and apologies made to 10 people who scored votes in the competition. Without giving the numbers of the votes, Reddy said those submitted after Fiji TV closed the competition were not counted. The blogs claim the 1500 were from two phones with around 800 texts marked "FB" - for Frank Bainimarama - rather than the required "VB". The day before the 1500 votes were lodged, Kumar was leading with 464 to Bainimarama's 200. link - http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/6296302/Fiji-TV-apologises-over-personality-vote boggles the mind...
