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Fiji calls in military after close election is disputed : NPR


People’s Union Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka gestures during a church service at the Fijian Teachers Association Hall in Suva, Fiji, Sunday, December 18, 2022.

Mick Tsikas/AP


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Mick Tsikas/AP


People’s Union Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka gestures during a church service at the Fijian Teachers Association Hall in Suva, Fiji, Sunday, December 18, 2022.

Mick Tsikas/AP

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Fijian police on Thursday said they are appealing to the military to help maintain security after last week’s close election that is now controversial.

It’s an alarming development in a Pacific nation where democracy remains fragile and there have been four military coups in the past 35 years. The two main candidates for prime minister this year are former coup leaders.

Police Commissioner Brig. General Sitiveni Qiliho said in a statement that after police and army leaders met Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, they jointly decided to call on the army and navy to come to their aid.

The Commissioner said there have been threats against minorities “who are now living in fear following recent political developments.”

Correspondents in the capital Suva said there was no immediate sign of an army presence on the city’s streets.

The military move comes after Bainimarama’s Fiji First party refused to give in to the election, despite rival party Sitiveni Rabuka and two other parties claiming they had enough numbers to form a majority coalition and will act as the next government.

Fiji First Gen Sec. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told the media on Wednesday that under the nation’s constitution, Bainimarama would remain prime minister until lawmakers return to Parliament within two weeks to vote on the next leader.

Sayed-Khaiyum questioned the validity of the internal vote that resulted in one of the parties joining Rabuka’s coalition. And he lashed out at Rabuka, accusing him of sowing division in Fiji.

Sayed-Khaiyum said: “This man’s whole reason is to divide Fiji for political power. “And we can see it boiling again. In fact, it’s not boiling, it’s boiling.”

Earlier in the day, Rabuka and two other party leaders announced they were forming a coalition with a total of 29 seats to Fiji First’s 26 and would form the next government.

“A government that we hope will bring about the change that everyone has been calling for for the past few years,” Rabuka said at a press conference. “It will be a difficult task. It will not be easy and it has never been easy to try to overthrow an incumbent government. We have done it together.”

Rabuka’s announcement prompted New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to congratulate him on Twitter, saying New Zealand “looks forward to working together to further strengthen our warm relationship.”

But New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took a more cautious approach, saying she was waiting until things calmed down.

Bainimarama has been in power for 16 years. He led a military coup in 2006 and then reinvented himself as a democratic leader by introducing a new constitution and winning elections in 2014 and 2018.

Meanwhile, Rabuka led Fiji’s first military takeover in 1987 and then served seven years as elected prime minister in the 1990s.

Bainimarama and Rabuka initially stalemate after the election. Rabuka’s People’s Union Party won 21 seats and its affiliated National League Party won 5 seats, while Bainimarama’s Fiji First party won 26 seats.

That leaves the Social Democratic Liberal Party, which won three seats, in control of the balance of power. The party decided on Tuesday in an internal vote close to 16-14 in favor of Rabuka – a vote that Fiji First is now questioning.

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