Fiji's ruling FijiFirst party wins general elections

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The FijiFirst party, the island nation's ruling party led by incumbent Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, has won this year's general elections.

According to the official results announced by Fiji's Electoral Commission on Sunday, the FijiFirst party topped the official tally of the 2018 general elections results with 227,241 votes, which is 50.02 percent of the total votes in the island nation.

The ruling party will get 27 parliamentary seats and will form the next government.

Voreqe Bainimarama, Fiji's Prime Minister, speaks during the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, California, US, September 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), the nation's main opposition party, is in the second place on the official tally with 181,072 votes, 39.85 percent of the total votes. SODELPA will get 21 parliamentary seats.

The National Federation Party (NFP) won 33,515 votes, 7.38 percent of the total votes. The party will get three parliamentary seats.

The total number of votes cast in the general elections was 458,532 votes, of which, the total number of valid votes was 454,335 while the total number of invalid votes was 4,197.

The total number of registered voters for the 2018 general elections was 637,527, which means that 178,995 registered voters did not vote in the elections.

The Electoral Commission has returned the writ of elections to Fijian President Jioji Konrote on Sunday, confirming that the 2018 general elections have now been completed.

Bainimarama has voiced his satisfaction with the results of the elections, saying in a statement on Sunday that he is proud to become the island nation's prime minister once again.

He said that November 18 is indeed "a great day in Fiji's history" where the majority of Fijians have emphatically voted and put their hands up to support the FijiFirst message of ongoing inclusive progress.

This is Fiji's second general elections since a military coup in 2006 and the last elections took place in 2014.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency