Fiji elections: 'I'm voting for the sake of my children'

Mereia Rokobulou Molidegei, 29, queues to cast her vote: "It is an important day for us, and I am so excited."

Voter Mereia Rokobulou Molidegei, 29, turned up at her Fiji voting station an hour before it opened.

"I know it is an important day for us, and I am so excited," said the mother of four sons from Muanivatu Vatuwaqa.

"What I am doing is not just for myself or my country, but I am voting for the sake of my children."

About 520,000 Fijians are expected to cast their votes today, with long queues starting to form at polling stations throughout Suva from as early as 6.30am.

By 10.30am, a presiding officer at Vatuwaqa Primary School - the station where Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was expected to vote - estimated that close to 1500 voters in the area had voted.

Multinational Observer Group co-ordinator Andrew Goledzinowski, from Canberra, said it was too early to form any judgements about whether the election was "fair and free".

He said the group would reserve any comments until tomorrow after the 92 observers, including a team from New Zealand, met for a debrief.

"The observations is not just on today, but today is a very important part of it," Mr Goledzinowski said.

"The Fiji authorities have taken this (election) very seriously...and I think it's reasonable to say at this stage that they have done the best they can to meet the challenges."

The Fiji vote will decide on the next government to lead the country for the next four years.

The country has been under the charge of Mr Bainimarama since he seized power to become prime minister after a military coup in 2006.
Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said there has been "a huge amount of enthusiasm" on the elections and believed there will be a high turn out.

He said that while his office and staff were ready for today, there could still be factors beyond their control.

"We have contingency plans in place and we will ensure that there is a smooth operation."