Fiji calm as vote nears close

Fiji calm as vote nears close

SUVA, Fiji (Reuters): Fiji's capital was calm on Saturday on the final day of a racially charged general election to replace a military-backed government dominated by indigenous islanders, police said.

The military, which seized control after nationalist rebels deposed Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, 15 months ago, has agreed to turn over security during the election to the unarmed national police force.

A small band of insurgents, led by one-time insurance salesman George Speight, stormed the parliament on May 19, 2000, claiming that the country's indigenous culture was being drowned by Indian ways. Speight is awaiting trial for treason for his role in the coup.

Chaudhry is seeking reelection and enjoys strong support among the country's sizable Indian community, mostly in rural sugar cane growing regions. The military's choice, banker Lasenia Qarase, the caretaker prime minister, is more popular among conservative indigenous Fijians in urban electorates.