Fiji Parliament Confirms Sitiveni Rabuka as Prime Minister After Days Of Uncertainty – A coalition of parties voted to appoint Sitiveni Rabuka as Fiji’s new prime minister, putting an end to Frank Bainimarama’s 16-year rule. Saturday’s selection of Rabuka followed ten days of uncertainty following an election that produced a hung parliament. Friday, the Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) of Fiji opted to form a coalition with the People’s Alliance of Rabuka and the National Federation party.
The agreement was intended to remove Fiji First’s Frank Bainimarama, who has led the Pacific archipelago since a coup in 2006. Saturday’s secret vote for prime minister was far closer than anticipated, with 28 members of parliament voting for Rabuka and 27 voting for Bainimarama. Rabuka’s coalition retains 29 seats in parliament, suggesting that one member voted for the former prime minister against his coalition.
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As he left parliament to be sworn in by the country’s president, Rabuka, 74, remarked that he felt “humbled” to be prime minister. The military was deployed on the streets of Suva as Rabuka and Bainimarama raced to form a coalition government in the wake of a hung general election. Bainimarama stated that the military was required to maintain “law and order” based on unverified reports of ethnic violence. But former military commander Rabuka, who served as prime minister between 1992 and 1999, said the government was “sowing fear and chaos” and “trying to set the nation alight along racial lines.”
Numerous Fijians thought that the government’s accusations of ethnic violence and subsequent military deployment were a “creeping coup” pretext. Four coups have destabilized Fiji during the past 35 years. New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, congratulated Rabuka on his appointment and expressed her country’s eagerness to expand “our very warm relationship” with Fiji’s new government. “We strongly value Fiji as a close friend and partner as we progress our shared priorities for the region.”
Ardern said Bainimarama had an “important legacy for Fiji and his role as a regional leader supporting action on regional issues, including climate change.” Fiji has been pivotal in the South Pacific’s response to increasing competition for influence between China and the United States. Rabuka has said he favours western-style democracy. At a press conference earlier this month, Sodelpa’s leader said he wanted Fiji’s foreign relations to be closely aligned with Australia, New Zealand and some members of the Pacific Islands Forum.
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