San Francisco Frontiers - 'Rambo' Rabuka returns as Fiji prime minister

Rabuka replaces the imposing Frank Bainimarama, who toppled the government in a 2006 coup and became prime minister a year later.

The 74-year-old Rabuka said he felt "humbled" as he made his way out of parliament to be sworn in by the country's president.

The two-time coup leader and former prime minister -- nicknamed "Rambo" -- narrowly triumphed over Bainimarama by 28 votes to 27 in a secret ballot held in parliament, speaker Naiqama Lalabalavu announced.

A chorus of cars honked in celebration as they drove past the parliamentary building in the capital Suva after the vote.

European Union ambassador for the Pacific Sujiro Seam tweeted his congratulations to Rabuka shortly after the announcement.

The military had been deployed on the streets of Suva as Rabuka and Bainimarama raced to cobble together a coalition government following a deadlocked general election.

Citing unsubstantiated reports of ethnic violence, Bainimarama said the military was needed to maintain "law and order".

But Rabuka who served as prime minister between 1992 and 1999said the government was "sowing fear and chaos" and "trying to set the nation alight along racial lines".

Bainimarama is yet to concede defeat, and it was not immediately clear whether he would sit in opposition or resign as the leader of the Fiji First party.

- 'Climate of fear' -

Many Fijians feared the government's claims of ethnic violence -- and the subsequent military deployment -- were a pretext for a "creeping coup".

While not an outright autocrat, Bainimarama's government had frequently used the legal system to sideline opponents, silence critics and muzzle the media.

Police summoned Rabuka for questioning after he asked the military to step in and help resolve an election night "glitch" that delayed results for hours.

"The way this government has operated, we've been talking about a climate of fear," he said at the time.

"This is how they instil that fear."

It marks an extraordinary political comeback for Rabuka.

The former Fijian rugby international locked in a coalition deal to form a government on Friday afternoon, after successfully wooing the kingmaker SODELPA party.

SODELPA had earlier chosen Rabuka's People's Alliance over Bainimarama's Fiji First, but that first vote was ruled invalid by the country's election supervisor.

Fiji has been upended by four coups in the past 35 years.

D.Parker--SFF