Ex-PM has been accused of stopping a police investigation into former staff members at a university

Former Fijian leader Frank Bainimarama has been released on bail and said he “served with integrity,” after pleading not guilty to abusing his power as prime minister by stopping a police investigation.

“I served as prime minister with integrity and with the interests of all Fijians at heart,” he told reporters outside a courtroom in Suva on Friday.

‘We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,’ party leader Viliame Gavoka told reporters after an internal party vote

Fiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signalling an end to the former military leader’s 16 years in power.

“We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,” party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote.

The People’s Alliance leader will take over after he secured the backing of the Social Liberal Democratic party to oust longstanding rival

Frank Bainimarama’s reign as leader of Fiji has ended almost 16 years after he instigated a coup in 2006 and installed himself as prime minister the next year.

Cheering, singing and car horns filled the streets on Tuesday outside the office of the man who will be crowned Fiji’s new prime minister.

Sitiveni Rabuka calls for calm, while his claims of irregularities are rebuffed by election supervisors

Fiji’s opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, has alleged irregularities in voting data while calling for calm, as counting continued in the country’s national election.

Provisional results had the opposition People’s Alliance party hovering in the mid to low 40s and incumbent prime minister Frank Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party in the mid-20s four hours after polls closed. The results were taken offline for a number of hours and, when they returned, the results had flipped.

Ratu Meli Bainimarama has been charged with assault, stalking, choking and other charges in Windsor local court

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The son of the Fijian prime minister is facing criminal charges in relation to domestic violence-related allegations in a New South Wales court.

Ratu Meli Bainimarama, 36, has been charged with 17 offences related to domestic violence, including five charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two charges of stalking, four charges of common assault, one charge of destroying or damaging property, one charge of intentionally distributing an intimate image without consent and four counts of intentionally choking a person without consent.

Whatever the outcome of this year’s election, the next prime minister will likely be someone who first came to power through the barrel of a gun

The last time the Australian Labor party came to power (in 2007), Australia was imposing sanctions against Fiji as a result of the country’s fourth coup in 2006. Relations worsened before they improved and, partly at Australia’s prompting, Fiji was suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum in 2009.

Fast forward to 2022. Fiji’s 2006 coup leader is now its prime minister, Fiji is chairing the Pacific Islands Forum, and it was the first Pacific country that Australia’s new foreign minister, Penny Wong, visited.