In a dramatic turn of events at the Miss Universe Fiji pageant, Nadine Roberts has now been officially named as the winner after a mistake by organisers led to the wrong contestant being crowned.
The alleged mix-up occurred during the Gala Top Ten Finalists event held on Friday night at The Pearl Resort in Pacific Harbour.
Initially, according to a Miss Universe Fiji media release, the crown was mistakenly awarded to 24-year-old Manshika Prasad, who is currently pursuing her MBA in Australia.
Nadine Roberts, a professional singer, commercial dancer, and property manager, was incorrectly announced as the runner-up.
Miss Universe Fiji said in a media release that the alleged error, which resulted from a rushed announcement and procedural oversight, caused significant confusion and heartbreak for both contestants.
Interestingly, this marks the second time Roberts has faced such a situation, having previously been wrongly announced as a runner-up.
Roberts, who is passionate about empowering young girls and women in Fiji, will now represent the country at the Miss Universe competition later this year in Mexico.
According to Miss Universe Fiji, the alleged error occurred due to a tie in the votes, with the seven judges and the licensee holder’s vote resulting in four votes each for Prasad and Roberts.
Further, according to the Miss Universe Fiji organisation, the contracted organiser failed to count the licensee vote and did not consult with the licensee holder, who should have had the final say in the event of a tie.
The Miss Universe Fiji licensee representative expressed disappointment over the alleged error, stating that it tainted an otherwise successful event. However, they noted that the close competition and calibre of the contestants would only strengthen the pageant in the coming years.
However, in another media statement on Monday, Grant Dwyer, who is the contracted organiser of the event, doubled down that Prasad is the “official winner”. Dwyer said Prasad “was judged fairly, amongst the 9 finalists, at the live crowing event on Friday”.
“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 licence holder) representative while the other 6 judges were all independent, confirmed and presented on the official website originally,” Dwyer noted.
The Miss Universe Fiji event, held at the luxurious Pearl Resort & Spa, brought together Fiji’s elite from the hospitality, business, and fashion sectors. This year’s pageant marked Fiji’s long-awaited return to the Miss Universe global stage, 43 years after its last participation.
The story will be updated once we have received a statement from the judges.
Support Our Journalism
Global Indian Diaspora and Australia’s multicultural communities need fair, non-hyphenated, and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. The Australia Today – with exceptional reporters, columnists, and editors – is doing just that. Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.
Whether you live in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, or India you can take a paid subscription by clicking Patreon and support honest and fearless journalism. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/TheAusToday