Fiji vote tightening as police question opposition leader

Fiji’s election count was tightening Saturday following a tumultuous night for opposition leader Sitiveni Rabuka, who police called in for questioning after he urged the military to intervene. 

Two-time coup leader and former prime minister Rabuka, 74, is challenging incumbent Frank Bainimarama, 68, an ex-navy commodore who has won two elections since first seizing control of the island nation in a 2006 putsch. 

Rabuka’s People’s Alliance party and its coalition partner held a 44 to 42 percent lead over Bainimarama’s Fiji First party Saturday morning, with almost half the country’s 2,071 stations having submitted their results. 

But Bainimarama — who has been silent since votes were cast Wednesday — is widely expected to move in front when booths in urbanised areas submit their tallies, with a final result anticipated by Sunday. 

Detectives summoned Rabuka to the Criminal Investigations Department late Friday after he repeatedly complained about “anomalies” in the results and asked the military to step in. 

People’s Alliance general-secretary Sakiasi Ditoka was also questioned. 

There was a sizable police presence outside the department overnight, with officers setting up temporary roadblocks. 

Rabuka later told AFP he believed the move was a government scare tactic. 

“The way this government has operated, we’ve been talking about a climate of fear. This is how they instill that fear,” he said.

It was not clear what, if any, charges were being considered.

The aftermath of Wednesday’s poll has grown increasingly tense since an election-night “anomaly” knocked results offline for four hours. 

Opposition parties led by Rabuka have said the incident cast doubt on the entire election process and that counting should be stopped immediately. 

Under a constitution drawn up in 2013 after a period of political turmoil, Fiji’s military has “overall” responsibility for maintaining stability. 

Rabuka’s hopes of stopping the count faded Friday, however, as military commander Jone Kalouniwai rebuffed his plea for the army to intervene. 

The answer was “no”, Rabuka said, “he will not be drawn into it”. 

International observers said Friday they had no significant concerns about the conduct of the vote. 

Rebekha Sharkie, an election observer and Australian member of parliament, said no “significant irregularities or issues” had been observed during pre-polling, postal voting or the casting of ballots on election day.

While the vote is seen as a test of Fiji’s often-fragile democracy, there is a regional significance as well — Bainimarama has been close to China, while Rabuka is likely to distance himself from Beijing. 

Four Fijian prime ministers have been toppled by coups in the past 35 years.