Fiji's voting forms 'weird and unusual'

  • Breaking
  • 14/09/2014

There are just two days to go before Fijians go to the polls in the country's first election in almost eight years.

Voters are being urged to embrace democracy after years of "coup culture".

Military leader Frank Bainimarama took over in December 2006, and has remained in power ever since. He's now stepped down from the military in order to run for Prime Minister, and is tipped to win.

A multinational observer group will monitor the election to ensure it is free and fair, but there are fears of another coup.

There are seven parties and 249 candidates standing for the new 50-seat parliament. Each candidate has been assigned a three-digit number, and it's that number that appears on the voting papers.

Nik Naidu from the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji says the numbering system is a "weird and unusual" way to vote, and isn't sure how it came about.

And if Mr Bainimarama wins, he says there will probably be another coup.

Watch the video for the full interview.

source: newshub archive