Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama vowed to respect the outcome of yesterday’s election, as polls closed in a vote that could end his 16 years in power and return a rival former coup leader to office.
Bainimarama, 68, seized control of Fiji in a 2006 putsch, but legitimized his grip on power with election wins in 2014 and 2018.
Standing in the way of Bainimarama’s third elected term is former Fijian prime minnister Sitiveni Rabuka, a 74-year-old former military commander nicknamed “Rambo” after leading two coups in 1987.
Photo: AFP
The vote is seen as a test of the nation’s fledgling democracy.
Asked yesterday whether he would accept the outcome, win or lose, Bainimarama said “of course” as he cast his ballot in the capital, Suva, with his granddaughter in tow.
He then lashed out at reporters, saying they should ask “better questions.”
Fiji now faces a nervous wait for a winner to be declared — ballots must be tallied from remote islands and highland villages, and the country’s complicated counting system could further slow things down. The final count is not expected for at least two days, although provisional returns could come more quickly.
Rabuka said he would readily concede defeat if beaten, and Bainimarama should do the same.
“I think he will not. So I’m hoping for a flood of votes in our favor, so that it makes any attempt at that course futile,” he said. “We cannot live forever, we cannot rule forever, so successions from an opposition party should be accepted.”
Any arguments about the result would likely be dealt with through the courts, rather than another coup, Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Blake Johnson said.
“Should Rabuka win, this will be Fiji’s first test at completing a peaceful handover of power in nearly two decades,” he said. “If Bainimarama refuses to accept defeat, we could see several legal challenges tie up the parliamentary and judicial systems for some time.”
Rabuka — who is also a former Fijian international rugby player and Commonwealth Games hammer thrower — has signalled that Fiji could loosen its ties with China if he was elected.
Fiji has grown closer to Beijing under Bainimarama, who used a “look north” policy to stabilize the economy after Australia and New Zealand hit the country with heavy trade sanctions in retaliation for his 2006 coup.
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