The Fijian caretaker Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, says he is on the verge of forming a government to rule the country for the next five years. As Fiji prepares for the count in the country's national elections, Fiji police have discounted suggestions that the deposed prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, might be assassinated if he wins again. There appears to have been a lower than expected turnout in Fiji's elections, with around one in six registered voters failing to cast a ballot. Police in Fiji have assured the public that their completed votes will not be tampered with as the country enters the second of eight days of voting. The first day of the general election in Fiji appears to have passed without major incidents.
Election officials say turnout was high.
A court in Fiji has ruled that an unemployed man charged over the murder of Australian Red Cross chief John Scott is mentally fit to plead to the charges. Fiji's murdered Red Cross director John Scott had last week told a friend he was under pressure not to testify in the treason trial against failed coup plotter George Speight, The Fiji Times reports. The Fiji coup leader, George Speight, has made another court appearance, just two days short of the first anniversary of his coup. Fiji's election Australia has offered support and money to Fiji to run the country's August election. The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, made the offer to the interim Fijian Foreign Minister Kalipate Tavola during a conversation today.