Fiji Returns to democracy with Trouble-free Vote

Fijians flocked to vote Wednesday in the South Pacific nation's first election since a 2006 coup, with officials declaring the poll trouble-free and military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama appearing set for victory.

Long queues formed at polling centers before doors opened at 7:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday) and a festive atmosphere prevailed, with many people turning out in their Sunday best to take part in the return to democracy after almost eight years of military rule.

At the Vatuwaqa Public School just outside Suva city center, Bainimarama cast his ballot and said he was willing to submit to the will of the people after years of ruling by decree.

Bainimarama, who is standing as a prime ministerial candidate, said he was confident of winning the historic poll, which for the first time extends full voting rights to Indian Fijians who make up 40 percent of the 900,000 population.

"We've been through a lot in the last eight years... today is very important for Fiji, this is the first time we are voting without any discrimination," he told reporters.

"Before, you used to queue up to vote in different races, that is now gone. Today is about bringing democracy back to Fiji."

The vote was seen as pivotal to ending the country's "coup culture" which saw four governments toppled between 1987 and 2006, largely due to tensions between indigenous Fijians and ethnic Indians.

President Epeli Nailatikau had called for a violence-free election and military commander Mosese Tikoitoga said his forces were on standby after receiving reports of intimidation.

But fears of a repeat of the rioting that erupted in Suva after a 2000 coup proved unfounded, with both races queuing side-by-side in the capital in an easy-going atmosphere.

Shortly after polls closed at 6:00pm (0600 GMT), elections supervisor Mohammed Saneem said the ballot had been conducted peacefully.

"We haven't received any reports of any altercations in any of our polling stations and, as such, we can say, from the current information available, that there was no violence," he told reporters.

Bainimarama's Fiji First party had garnered 51.3 percent of the vote by midnight, more than 13.1 percent ahead of his nearest rival Sodepa, although election officials cautioned the figures were preliminary and may not reflect the final result.

Australian diplomat Andrew Goledzinowski, the head of a 92-strong multinational observer group, said it was too early to say whether the election had been free and fair, with a preliminary report expected to be released Thursday.

He said monitoring a vote involving almost 1,500 polling stations across Fiji's 300-plus islands had been a logistical challenge for his team.

"We've been following ballot boxes in boats down rivers, we've been crossing ridges in remote areas, we've even chartered airplanes to take our observers up to the most remote of the islands," he said.

Some 590,000 registered voters had the chance to select from almost 250 candidates standing for election to a new 50-seat parliament set up under a constitution adopted in 2013.

Bainimarama seized power vowing to stamp out corruption and end the racial divisions between indigenous Fijians and ethnic Indians, who are descended from sugar plantation laborers shipped in by the British during the colonial era.

His authoritarian regime did bring stability, but in the process tore up the constitution, sacked the judiciary and tightened media censorship, prompting Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Restrictions have been relaxed in recent years but as recently as last month Amnesty International accused Bainimarama of presiding over a "climate of fear". It raised concerns that the rules governing the election were skewed in his favor.

Asked Wednesday whether he would accept the result of the election even if he loses, the 60-year-old replied: "I'm not going to lose, I will win, so you ask that question to the other parties."

When pressed, he sought to ease concerns Fiji could face yet another coup.

"Of course we will accept the election results, that's what the democratic process is all about," he said.

Election officials say results might not be formally declared for seven days but a preliminary count may possibly be available as early as 2:00 am Thursday (1400 GMT Wednesday).