Fiji's major opposition parties are demanding a full recount of the votes cast in this week's Fiji's national election, warning they may refuse to take their seats in the new parliament if their requests are ignored.
The People's Alliance Party (PAP) leader, former prime minister and military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka, has even raised the prospect of military intervention in the dispute, a suggestion which is likely to raise anxiety in Fiji which has suffered multiple military coups in recent decades.
In a joint press conference with three other opposition party leaders on Thursday afternoon, Mr Rabuka demanded a full recount of ballots, following a glitch in the publishing of results on Wednesday.
Mr Rabuka's party was trending ahead before the glitch, but was shown coming second to the incumbent Fiji First Party when data was re-uploaded to the app in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The PAP leader claimed the "anomalies … called into serious doubt the integrity of the whole entire system".
He claimed that results published after the glitch did not match up with votes tallied by party observers before they were sent to the official counting centre.
"We are now calling for an immediate halt in the tallying of votes until an urgent forensic audit of the election system is conducted," he said.
"The [opposition] leaders have put the Electoral Commission on notice that they are seriously considering non-compliance within being sworn in as members of parliament because of the questionable results so far announced."
PAP leader seeks military intervention
Mr Rabuka said he would launch a complaint with electoral authorities, but would also write to President Ratu Williame Katonivere and the commander of Fiji's military, Major General Jone Kalouniwai.
When pressed on how he would like the military to intervene, Mr Rabuka said the commander could "endorse my call for a halt to the count" if he thought that was appropriate.
He referred to a section of the Fiji constitution that says the commander has a responsibility to "ensure at all times the security, defence and wellbeing of Fiji and all Fijians".
But when journalists asked him whether he was calling for the military to seize control of the country, he said no.
"It will not be a coup. It will be just supporting the civilian system that's running — though not necessarily the government echelon of it," he said.
"That is [the army's] role in the constitution. If that's the way they interpret the constitution, they'll say yes. Otherwise, they will say no.
"It's beyond our capacity. His professional view will come in very handy in that."
But Mr Rabuka's call is still likely to cause unease in Fiji, which has grappled with military coups in the past, including one Mr Rabuka led to unseat a civilian government in 1987.
The leader of the opposition National Federation Party, Biman Prasad, did not say if he would back the call for the commander to intervene.
But he criticised the government and the electoral system, accusing the government of rigging its operation to make it impossible for opposition parties to compete effectively.
"If the main process of the vote and the counting and the outcome of the election is something that we doubt, that we have serious problems with, you cannot call it a democratic process," he said.
"So yes, the entire process is stacked against all conventions, all elements of democracy. And indeed, you know, how it stifles the opposition and the people of this country."
Election official defends counting process
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Fiji's election supervisor Mohammad Saneem defended the electoral process, saying all political parties were able to observe the counting of votes.
"You are entitled as a political party to have an agent present at the results centre," Mr Saneem said.
"Every political party has their own laptop. They can bring their flash drive, and they will be given that data directly from the results system, as well as the scanning of all the results that have been entered into the software."
He implied the opposition parties were using the technical mishap to their advantage.
"The word glitch is now being used by the parties to say that we lost votes. But that's just playing with words," Mr Saneem said.
When asked whether he would consider halting the vote count, Mr Saneem said he had not received an official complaint from the opposition parties.
"I can't make a pre-emptive decision on it. Of course, once the complaints come, we will look at the merits in the complaint," Mr Saneem said.
The ABC has reached out to Fiji First and incumbent Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama for comment.
