John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
Fijians took to the streets on Tuesday to celebrate the emergence of Sitiveni Rabuka as the new Prime Minister of the South Pacific country.
Rabuka’s emergence as the new Prime Minister comes as the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) announced on Tuesday that it has reached a negotiation with the former military leader’s coalition which comprises People’s Alliance and the National Federation Party to form a new government.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrime Business Africa earlier reported that SODELPA which won three seats in the 55 seats parliament became the tie breaker after the results were announced during the weekend and the parties of Sitiveni Rabuka and Frank Bainimarama, won 26 seats each.
SODELPA which campaigned to bring free tertiary education for all and an increment in the yearly allocation for the indigenous affairs ministry said they were going into negotiations with the Fiji First Party and the coalition party to see what they are offering to make their decision on “what’s best for the nation.”
The decision by SODELPA to align with Rabuka’s coalition to form a new government, brings an end to Frank Bainimarama’s 16-year reign as Prime Minister after he seized power in 2006 through a bloodless coup and legitimized his government through winning elections in 2014 and 2018.
The Island of Fiji has witnessed four coups in 35 years and the fear of another is on the mind of citizens, as they have not heard from Prime Minister Bainimarama who has not released any statement since the announcement of the deal by SODELPA.
According to Aljazeera, His party, Fiji First claimed that any deal by the opposition to form a government is illegitimate.
Sitiveni Rabuka who himself led two coups in 1987, was a Prime Minister of the Island from 1992 to 1999.
Rabuka needs to win the support of 50 per cent of the 55 seats in the parliament to become Prime Minister. If he fails to win 50 per cent of the parliament in three attempts, the President can dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
