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.