Fiji Election End In Deadlock After Parliamentary Elections

Following the general election on Wednesday, the two main competing political parties in Fiji, both of which are led by previous coup leaders, are in a deadlock.

Both the People's Alliance of opposition leader Sitiveni Rabuka and the Fiji First of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama will receive 26 seats in parliament.

They now have to compete with the Social Democratic Liberal Party, which has three seats, to create a government coalition.

There have been claims of fraud surrounding the poll in the Pacific island nation.

After a result-monitoring app crashed, confidence took a further hit.

Police questioned Mr. Rabuka, 74, on Friday after he requested that the military step in.

Lenaitasi Duru, general secretary of the Social Democratic Liberal Party, says his group hasn't decided where it will provide assistance but that it will back whoever can best aid native Fijians.

Mr. Bainimarama's nearly 16 years in leadership would come to an end if the party chooses to support the People's Alliance.

Mr. Bainimarama, 68, overthrew the government in a coup in 2006, and the following year was appointed prime minister.

Mr. Rabuka, meantime, was the architect of Fiji's first coup in 1987 and held the position of prime minister from 1992 to 1999.

Rivalry between the indigenous Fijian and ethnic Indian communities has been at the heart of most of the political unrest in the country since Fiji obtained independence from the UK in 1970.