Vote count starts slowly in post-coup Fiji poll
Vote count starts slowly in post-coup Fiji poll
SUVA (Agencies): Vote counting got off to a slow start on
Monday in Fiji's first general election since last year's coup,
election officials said.
The first results are expected later in the day from the Ba
district sugarcane stronghold of former prime minister Mahendra
Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian ousted in the racially charged coup.
"Everything is under control so far," said Tomasii Tui,
assistant returning officer of elections.
Unarmed police patrolled four vote counting centers in the
South Pacific nation of about 800,000 people. Some voters
expressed concern about a return to violence if Chaudhry,
despised by ultra-right factions of the indigenous Fijian
majority, is returned to power.
"If Chaudhry is re-elected, who knows what will happen?" said
Thomas Naibini, 27, outside his home in the Rawaqa Squatters
Flats in the Fijian capital of Suva.
"There could be trouble because many Fijians do not think he
represents them," Naibini, an indigenous Fijian, said.
Chaudhry was ousted after armed nationalists stormed
parliament on May 19, 2000, in the name of indigenous rights.
Election officials and polling volunteers at three of the four
counting depots were still sorting ballots before beginning the
tally, which could take up to five days.
Around 200 police were deployed to two depots in Suva, which
will count votes from 32 of the Fiji parliament's 71 seats.
Ethnic Indians were brought to Fiji from the late 19th century
as indentured labor to work in sugar cane fields.
They now make up about 44 percent of the population and
dominate the sugar and tourism-driven economy. Many indigenous
Fijians worry that ethnic Indians will match their economic power
with political clout.
Qarase said during the run-up to the election that Fiji would
not be ready for another Indian leader for up to 30 years.
Unofficial exit polls indicated most Fijians had voted along
ethnic lines, leaving Chaudhry and his Fijian Labour Party as
clear front-runners. Early figures suggested a relatively high
voter turnout of more than 80 percent.
Chaudhry and coup leader George Speight, who is awaiting trial
on treason charges, were two of the highest profile candidates in
an election contested by 18 parties and 351 candidates.
The election was overseen by a team of UN and international
observers who recorded only minor irregularities during the week-
long vote.
Meanwhile, electoral officials said Monday thousands of voters
shunned Fiji's general elections even though voting is compulsory
here and despite a clean bill from UN and Commonwealth observers.
In a statement the United Nations Fijian Electoral Observation
Mission (UNFEOM) said in a statement they had visited 95 percent
of the polling stations.
"To date, the mission has observed no problems significant
enough to compromise the overall integrity of the voting
process," the statement says.
"The vote was conducted in a transparent manner."
UNFEOM said they were aware of several concerns, including
citizens being unable to vote because their names were not on the
roll.
They said they would study the data before determining whether
this would affect the outcome.
"The United Nations mission looks forward to the realization
of Fiji's national determination to return to democratic rule."
The Commonwealth Observer Group, led by Sir Henry Forde of
Barbados said in a statement that voting took place in a calm and
peaceful atmosphere.
It added it was impressed with the professionalism and
dedication of the election officials, but also noted some
problems.
"However, overall the voting process functioned well; indeed,
it compared favorably with that of many other countries.
"So far the process has been credible, but it is not over
yet."