Fiji’s Grand Return To The Miss Universe Pageant Mired In Controversy: Who Is The Real Miss Universe Fiji Winner?
It was to be an occasion which marked Fiji’s grand return to the Miss Universe pageant later this year but what the fans got was a faux pas when it was revealed that the organizers had crowned the “wrong winner” after a “controversial decision by judges”.
The organizers had initially named Manshika Prasad, 24, as the winner and Nadine Roberts, 30, was the runner-up of the Miss Fiji 2024 pageant which was held at Pearl Resort.
The organizers later stated that a controversial decision led to the wrong winner being awarded.
Controversy Overshadows Fiji’s Grand Return to Miss Universe
The organizers said that the mistake happened due to a contracted organizer not following the correct procedure.
In the statement, Miss Universe Fiji (MUF), said:
“A controversial decision by judges on the night incorrectly awarded the wrong winner at the Gala Top Ten finalists Event held at the Pearl Resort last night has led to heartbreak and tears for two contestants.
The actual winner of the top 10 was Nadine Roberts, but she was announced as the Runner Up on the night, after a rushed announcement and error. Unfortunately for Miss Roberts, this has happened to her twice now, after the pageant wrongly announced another winner Manshika Prasad.”
The Miss Universe Fiji said the avoidable faux pass happened because the contracted organizer had failed to count the licensee vote and consult them in the event of a tie.
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An internal probe revealed that seven judges plus one vote by the license holder left the two girls with four votes each, resulting in a tie.
MUF stated that the contracted organizer rushed to make the winning announcements, creating unnecessary confusion and controversy.
However, Grant Dwyer, who is the contracted organizer, maintained that Prasad is the “official winner”.
Dwyer said,
“The 7 x official winners voted Manshika Prasad winner of the title. One of the 7 judges was a Lux Property Bali (Miss Universe Fiji license holder) representative while the other 6 judges were all independent, confirmed and presented on the official website originally.”
Manshika Prasad, a 23-year-old MBA student in Australia who was crowned Miss Fiji said she is unaware of the controversy and maintained that she is the official winner.
In a statement she said,
“There is so much more going on behind the scenes that the public is unaware of.Officially, I am Miss Universe Fiji. I was voted for by 4 of the 7 judges, the remaining 3 voting for the Runner Up. The judging was conducted fairly and ethically – anything mentioned in unofficial articles online holds no substance as there is so much more going on behind the scenes that the PUBLIC IS UNAWARE OF.”
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