The situation is not clear after the elections in the key South Pacific state

The parliamentary elections resulted in two blocs of equal size, which are now campaigning for a small party. The island nation is also the subject of geopolitics.

Suva / Sydney. In the South Pacific state of Fiji, there is no clear majority after last week’s turbulent parliamentary elections – although the government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who has been in office for 16 years, is likely to make history in its current form. Bainimarama’s party, Fiji First, and an alliance led by opposition leader Sitiveni Rabuka each secured 26 of the 55 seats in the Suva parliament, according to weekend results. Now both are courting the small social democratic party of strict Christian businessman Villiam Javoca, who has three seats and thus turned kingmaker.

Elections are of geostrategic importance outside of Fiji, which gained independence from Great Britain in 1970, and with over 330 islands, it is only slightly smaller than Lower Austria: Prime Minister Bainimarama tends to be said to be close to China and its plans to penetrate the Pacific, while Rabuka (74) is said to be far larger than Beijing. What they have in common is that they seized power as high-ranking officers of the armed forces in a coup: Rabuka staged a coup in 1987 (the backdrop was the delicate balance between the indigenous Fijians and the large Indian ethnic group). Although he resigned in the same year, mainly due to foreign pressure and sanctions, he led a civilian government from 1992 to 1999 after regular elections. Bainimarama headed a short-term coup government in 2000, and then again from 2006, but he also managed to stay in office in regular elections (2014).