ZCZC
BFF-16
FIJI-VOTE-POLITICS
Fiji PM heading for win as coup-weary voters shun change
SUVA, Fiji, Nov 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama
appeared set for a comfortable election victory Thursday as voters in the
coup-plagued South Pacific nation opted to stick with the former military
strongman who led a takeover in 2006.
Bainimarama, 64, led a bloodless coup 12 years ago but now declares himself
a convert to democracy, vowing to end the instability that saw four
governments toppled between 1987 and 2006.
Preliminary results with almost three-quarters of votes counted gave
Bainimarama’s FijiFirst Party a narrow majority of 51.63 percent, well ahead
of nearest rival the SODELPA Party on 38.05 percent.
The National Federation Party on 7.5 percent is the only other grouping on
the ballot to reach the five percent threshold needed to gain representation
in the 51-seat parliament.
An election winner may not be known for several days as votes trickle in
from polling stations on the archipelago’s more remote islands.
Election officials also have to make alternative voting arrangements for
constituents affected when torrential rain on Wednesday forced the closure of
23 polling stations.
Turnout was as low as 53 percent in some districts, with many voters
deciding against braving the tropical downpours to cast their ballot.
The preliminary figures, if replicated in final results, would represent a
resounding vote of confidence in Bainimarama after 12 years in power, eight
of which saw him leading a military regime that ruled by decree.
The island nation of 920,000 people has enjoyed sustained growth in its
tourism-reliant economy under Bainimarama’s watch.
He has also made Fiji’s foreign policy less reliant on Australia and New
Zealand, which both tried to isolate his regime when he seized power,
allowing China an increased role in aid and development.
Supporters say he has helped heal racial divisions by introducing equal
rights for Indian-Fijians, a sizable minority brought in to work on sugar
plantations during British colonial rule.
But critics, including Amnesty International, say some democratic
fundamentals such as media freedom and the right to assembly remain
inadequate under Bainimarama, who is notoriously sensitive to criticism.
Fiji is by far the most populous and economically powerful of the South
Pacific island nations and seen as a regional hub for business and diplomacy.
University of the South Pacific academic Shailendra Singh said FijiFirst
had its critics and had been accused of vote buying.
But he said many Fijians were wary of a return to the upheavals experienced
between 1987 and 2006.
“People (are) voting for continuity, stability and what they regard as
progress, versus change,” he said.
Suva voter Tevita Vuibau said Fijians would honour the result, regardless
of who won.
“The vast majority of Fijians realise that Fiji cannot afford another coup
and for that I am thankful,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1030 hrs