Trump For Nobel Peace Prize? His Nomination May Be Fake

President Donald Trump might not be a contender for the revered Nobel Peace Prize this year after all. On Tuesday, a European publication reported that the Norwegian Nobel Institute suspected the nomination on the president for the prize might be a fake one.

According to a report by NRK News — a Norwegian Broadcast Corporation, although the Nobel Institute did not comment on how the suspicion arose, it said it might have received a false nomination on Trump as a candidate for the peace prize.

Norwegian Nobel Institute Director Olav Njølstad told Vanguard News — a publication based in Nigeria — “We never comment on valid nominations, it would be in violation of our statutes. But I can say that we have reason to believe that it is a fake nomination.”

"The case has been reported to the police and it is under investigation by Norwegian police," the director added.

Earlier this month, Vanguard reported that Trump was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The publication cited a statement by Henrik Urdal, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, who said, Trump was nominated by "an American."

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to people who have made tremendous strides in various areas and dedicated their lives to bring peace to the world.

The 1.4 million prize is awarded every year to selected persons to help them achieve their objectives. It opens up new doors that were probably closed before one was elevated to the status of a Nobel laureate.

According to Nobel Peace Prize Website, the nominations for the prize were accepted from a selected few with a credible standing in the society like the members of national governments, members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and of the International Court of Justice at the Hague and also former Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Geir Lundestad, predecessor of the present director of the Nobel Institute and former secretary of the Nobel Committee, said he wasn’t concerned about the fake nomination.

"This happens very rarely, and if that happens then it does not matter. Those who nominate candidates considered relevant are checked whether they are valid nominees,” Lundestad told Vanguard News.

Irrespective of his opinion on the fake nomination, he did not deny that the institute received false nominations during his tenure as the secretary of Nobel Committee.

"It is not unthinkable that Trump can be nominated by valid proposers. But it must be confirmed that nominees have the opportunity to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize," Lundestad said.

According to the report, this is the second time the Nobel Institute was reporting on false nomination of candidates for the peace prize. The Nobel Committee received 329 nominations this year, which include 217 people and 112 organizations.

In January, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden confirmed the nomination of Donald Trump. The identity of the person who nominated the president was kept under wraps since it was deemed confidential by the institute. However now, for reasons that has not been divulged by the institute, they gage that the nomination might be fake.