SYDNEY (Reuters) – Fiji’s military will assist police in maintaining “security and stability”, the country’s police commissioner said in a social media post on Thursday – a move that comes after last week’s election delivered a hung parliament.
Fiji is waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after a national election last week showed no major party received a clear majority.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s Fiji First has not conceded defeat, while a coalition of three parties say they have a combined majority and have agreed on People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister.
Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said in the statement that he met on Thursday with Bainimarama, Minister for Defence and Policing Inia Seruiratu and the military commander Major General Jone Kalouniwai and they came to an agreement on the military helping police with “the maintenance of law and order, amidst growing concerns of racial tension”.
Opposition parties have disputed reports by police that Indian businesses or homes had been targeted in the wake of the election, and have called for evidence of this.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
