Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama fails to win majority in general election

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama failed to win a majority in the recently concluded general election, leaving the country facing a hung parliament. Bainimarama's First party has won 26 seats which are two short of the majority needed to form the government, news agency Bloomberg reported on Sunday citing data from the Fiji Elections Office.

The People’s Alliance Party secured the second position with 21 seats while the Social Democratic Liberal Party won three seats. This general election's result marked the first time since democratic polls resumed in 2014 that the Fiji First failed to secure the majority needed to form the government.

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According to Radio New Zealand International, Frank Bainimarama will now have to woo at least one of the other political parties into a coalition to maintain power. Bainimarama, 68, hasbeen leading Fiji since 2006 when the then-army chief seized power in a military coup. In the 2014 election, the Fiji First won a clear majority and Bainimarama became the Prime Minister. He won again the 2018 election.

With the counting of all votes concluded, the Prime Minister and the next government in Fiji will now likely be determined through party horsetrading and what could be a drawn-out negotiation process, a report by news agency AFP said on Sunday.

The 2022 election marred by late-night glitch

Fijians cast their votes on Wednesday to elect the government for the next four years. However, the vote counting was marred by a glitch late Wednesday night which hid the tally from the public for four hours. The interference in counting was met with widespread anger on social media.

On Thursday, opposition leaders in Fiji, including two-time coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka, called for a halt to the vote counting alleging anomalies and an urgent forensic audit. The leaders threatened to boycott the next parliament if these two demands were not met.

Sitiveni Rabuka, 74, former Prime Minister and one of the contenders for the top post in this election, claimed anomalies in counting and asked the military to step in.

He was then hauled in for questioning by detectives. Upon being released, Rabuka told AFP the questioning was a part of the current government's effort to intimidate him.

No significant concerns about conduct of poll: International observers

Amid calls for a halt to the vote counting, international observers said on Friday that they had no significant concerns about the conduct of the Fiji general election. Rebekha Sharkie, one of the observers and Australian member of Parliament told AFP that no significant irregularities or issues during pre-polling, postal voting or election day voting were observed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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