WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 Vote counting finished in Fiji\u2019s general election Sunday but there was no clear winner, and various political parties are now negotiating to form a coalition government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The election had pitted two former coup leaders against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sitiveni Rabuka, who led a coup back in 1987 and later served as an elected prime minister in the 1990s, emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who has held power for the past 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rabuka\u2019s People\u2019s Alliance Party and allies the National Federation Party won about 45% of the vote combined. Bainimarama\u2019s Fiji\u2019s First party, meanwhile, won about 43%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has left both sides seeking to form a coalition with the Social Democrat Liberal Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The liberal party\u2019s general secretary Lenaitasi Duru told media they were having meetings with both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe first round of negotiations was done yesterday,\u201d Duru said. \u201cWe are expecting more negotiations later this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the party\u2019s priorities included Indigenous affairs and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight now we\u2019re sitting in the middle,\u201d Duru said. \u201cWe\u2019re watching and waiting for what is on offer, then we\u2019ll make the decision based on what\u2019s best for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, on Friday, Rabuka\u2019s party and four others had said they were launching a nationwide petition because they had no faith in the integrity of election officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But an international group that monitored the election said Friday it\u00a0did not observe any voting irregularities\u00a0and the process was transparent and credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute had threatened to destabilize the Pacific nation\u2019s fragile democracy, which has been marred by four military coups in the past 35 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rebekha Sharkie, an Australian lawmaker and co-chair of the 90-strong Multinational Observer Group, told reporters in Fiji they had unrestricted access to the election process and didn\u2019t observe any irregularities. She said the group had assessed that Fijians were able to vote freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rabuka\u2019s concerns came after his party had been leading in preliminary results posted online after polls closed, but then the results app stopped working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Election officials said they\u2019d found an anomaly in the system and needed to reload the results. When the next batch of results was posted, Bainimarama\u2019s party was in front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Election officials later stopped their provisional count and switched to a final count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bainimarama first seized the top job by force in 2006 and later refashioned himself as a democratic leader by introducing a new constitution and winning elections in\u00a02014\u00a0and again in\u00a02018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fiji is known abroad as a tourist paradise that is dotted with pristine beaches and filled with friendly, relaxed people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the past few years have\u00a0proved tough\u00a0for many people in the nation of just under 1 million, after tourism evaporated when COVID-19 hit and the economy tanked. The World Bank estimates the nation\u2019s poverty rate is about 24%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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