Fiji's police and armed forces Wednesday began preparing for fresh unrest as partial results from last week's elections left Mahendra Chaudhry, the prime minister deposed in last year's coup, on track for a return to power.
With 51 of the 71 seats in the national assembly declared, Chaudhry's Fiji Labour Party (FLP) had won 24, putting it in sight of an overall majority.
"I think we will have the numbers," predicted Chaudhry, Fiji's first leader to be drawn from the Pacific nation's large Indian minority.
George Speight, the leader of the coup which deposed Chaudhry in the name of the indigenous Fijian population, also won a seat in the assembly but will not be able to take it up as he is in prison awaiting trial for treason.
With the election results mirroring Fijis racial divide -- 51 percent of the 800,000 population are indigenous Fijian while 44 percent are of Indian origin -- the police and the army mounted a nationwide security operation in apparent anticipation of an attempt to oust the new adminstration.
The exercise, which included the staging of a mock riot in downtown Suva, was announced by Senior Superintendent Romanu Tikotikoca 90 minutes before it began. The officer said extra security measures were now being instituted to protect the incoming government.
"It is in our interests to ensure that the new government serves its full tenure of five years," he told reporters. Fiji has had three coups in the last four years -- two in 1987 as well as last year's.
Chaudhry, who won the last elections in May 1999, was in power for exactly a year before Speight and a gang of special forces soldiers seized parliament and took the government hostage for 56 days.
The military later declared martial law and installed banker Laisenia Qarase at the head of a caretaker administration which eventually called last week's elections.
Tikotikoca said the security exercise would involve roadblocks in similar areas to last years martial law operations and that armed troops would be involved, as well as riot police and the fire service.
"We are now working out a plan of operation to protect the incoming government. The plan will focus on the incoming government, the opening of parliament and reasonably to the period thereafter and to the full five years.
"We, the members of the security forces, feel we have an obligation to create a peaceful environment and maintain stability in our nation. The events of last year ruined our nation and people."
The former caretaker prime minister Qarase said he was hopeful of putting together a coalition of Fijian-dominated parties including Speights Conservative Alliance/Matanitu Vanua (MV).
"We have a proposed, viable coalition," he said.
The 71-seat assembly has 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 for Indians, three for other ethnic groups, one for Rotuma Island and 25 open seats.
By midnight Wednesday officials had declared 51 seats with the FLP holding 24, Qarases Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) 18, MV six and United General Party, National Federation Party and New Labour one each.
Speight was elected to Parliament representing a Fijian seat and got the news just after he and nine others, facing treason charges, appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court on minor charges.
"The prison officials in Korovo broke the news to him and there was much celebration down there," his brother Sam Speight said later.
Speight will forfeit his seat if he misses his swearing in and three successive sessions. But his brother said he would run again as a candidate in the subsequent by-election.
"The important thing about this particular occasion today is that the vanua (clan) is looking beyond a five year seat, they wanted to make a statement to the Fiji community and the world at large that there is a groundswell of support in his home district for the cause he stood up and fought for last year” -- SUVA (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
