Fiji military called in to ‘help maintain order’ after disputed election
- Tension mounts as Fiji waits for president to recall parliament so new prime minister can be voted in after no party won general election
- Opposition parties accuse PM Bainimarama, who has not conceded defeat, of stoking fears of ethnic trouble as a pretext to cling to power
Fiji’s military will help police maintain law and order, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Thursday, citing growing concerns of ethnic tension after an election last week resulted in a hung parliament.
The Pacific island nation with a population of 900,000 has a history of military coups. Bainimarama, who seized power in a 2006 coup, has been prime minister for 16 years, winning elections in 2014 and 2018.
Fiji is now waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after no party won a clear majority in the general election.
Bainimarama’s Fiji First has not conceded defeat, while a coalition of three parties says it has a combined majority and has agreed on the leader of the People’s Alliance, Sitiveni Rabuka, as prime minister. Rabuka is also a former coup leader.
Fiji’s politics was long dominated by sometimes tense race relations between its indigenous majority and a big ethnic Indian minority, before constitutional reform in 2013 to remove a race-based voting system that favoured indigenous Fijians.
However, opposition parties accuse Bainimarama of stoking fears of ethnic trouble as a pretext to cling to power.
