Seasoned rivals vying for power
SYDNEY: Two former coup leaders are seen as the leading contenders in Fiji’s general election on Wednesday, the second to be held since 2006 when thencommander of the armed forces Frank Bainimarama seized power.
The former British colony, with a population of about 910,000, was suspended from the British Commonwealth and isolated diplomatically after the bloodless coup.
Bainimarama stood down from the military to run as a civilian in the 2014 elections, winning in a landslide, and the country has been welcomed back to the international community.
Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who himself led two coups in 1987, is the main opposition candidate.
Rabuka, who leads the Social Democratic Liberal Party of Fiji, known as Sodelpa, which is running on a platform of government transparency, will not know until this afternoon whether he is eligible to be elected after being accused of deliberately breaching financial disclosure laws.
On Saturday he was questioned by police over an unrelated matter concerning a debate with Bainimarama about the National Bank of Fiji last Monday, Sodelpa general secretary Adi Qion ibaravi said.
Qionibaravi said despite the setbacks, Sodelpa could beat Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party. ‘‘We are very confident.’’ Stewart Firth, an Australian National University (ANU) Pacific Islands research fellow, said Bainimarama, with the advantage of incumbency, was likely to win. Bainimarama had the support of about 80% of Fijians of Indian descent, who are the country’s largest minority, while Sodelpa is regarded as a proindigenous Fijian party.
There was a chance of a coup attempt if the opposition were to win an upset victory because the army supported Bainimarama, even though it had promised to accept the result, Firth said.
The elections will also be contested by the National Federation Party, led by economics professor Biman Prasad. — Reuters