What will happen in Fiji?
Stuff reports:
Fiji’s government for the next four years is down to a kingmaker, after final results from its general elections left no party with a clear majority.
The battle is between Frank Bainimarama’ Fiji First Party (FFP) and coalition between People’s Alliance and National Federationparties (PAP-NFP), who both finished with 26 seats each after the final count on Sunday. …
A party can form a government if they win 28 or more seats in Fiji’s 52-member parliament.
The kingmaker that wields the power to Fiji’s future lays in the hands of the Social Democratic Party (SODELPA), who gained three seats with their 5.1% of votes.
Actually they have 55 seats, not 52.
The four parties are:
- Fiji First, 26 seats. Led by last coup leader Bainimarama
- People’s Alliance, 21 seats. Led by 1st coup leader Rabuka and formed in 2021
- National Federation Party, 5 seats
- Social Democratic Liberal Party, 3 seats
Sodelpa campaigned on free tertiary education and 1,000% increase in the budget for indigenous affairs. Also Rabuka used to lead Sodelpa but got rolled in a (non military) coup and then set up the People’s Alliance.
The current Sodelpa leader is also saying setting up a consulate in Jerusalem is non-negotiable, which seems a weirdly specific major policy.
Also an issue is Bainimarama has got close to China, while the other parties want to have more distance.
It seems more likely Sodelpa will go with People’s Alliance, but in negotiations anything can happen. If they do, then it will (hopefully) be the first peaceful transfer of power in a generation.