The Fijian parliament on Saturday (December 24th) confirmed opponent Sitiveni Rabuka as Prime Minister of Fiji, after he accused the outgoing government of fueling “fear and chaos” to frustrate his return to power.
Rabuka defeated incumbent Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama by 28 to 27 in a secret ballot in parliament, House Speaker Naiqama Lalabalavu said.
On leaving parliament before being officially sworn in by the President, Mr. Rabuka, a 74-year-old former army strongman, said he felt « humble » to be the next Prime Minister of Fiji. A concert of cars sounded in celebration outside the parliament building in the capital, Suva.
deployed army
Shortly after the result of the vote, European Union Ambassador for the Pacific, Sujiro Seam sent his congratulations to Rabuka on Twitter.
The army has been deployed in the streets of the capital, following stalled general elections. Citing unconfirmed reports of ethnic violence, Bainimarama said the army was needed to maintain ” Law and order “. But Mr. Rabuka – who himself led two coups in 1987 – had judged that the government “sowed fear and chaos” et “tried to ignite the nation based on racial criteria”.
Mr. Rabuka is thus making his political comeback, having been Prime Minister of Fiji between 1992 and 1999. A former Fijian rugby international, he managed to conclude a coalition agreement with the Social Democratic Party to form the government on Friday afternoon , which allowed him to obtain a majority in parliament.
Fears of “creeping coup”
Mr. Bainimarama, who came to power after a putsch, had been at the head of Fiji for 16 years. Under the Fijian Constitution, the military has broad powers to intervene in the political sphere and has been implicated in four coups in the past 35 years.
Many Fijians fear that the government’s allegations of ethnic violence and the deployment of the army could be used as a pretext for a “creeping coup”.
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Fiji, a state of more than 300 islands in the Pacific, has a large Indo-Fijian minority and episodes of infighting have been seen in the past.