Counting has started after Fijians today went to the polls for the first time since the 2006 military coup.
Seven parties are standing but all eyes are on the former rear admiral and coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama, commonly known as Frank Bainimarama, who is now an aspiring civilian politician.
The country is hoping for a lasting return to democracy after eight years of authoritarian rule.
Now leader of the Fiji First Party, Mr Bainimarama cast his vote before a throng of local and international media.
The self-appointed prime minister now hopes to rule through the ballot box and brushed aside suggestions of another coup.
"Don’t ask that question, don't ask that question, that's a stupid question," Mr Bainimarama told reports after voting.
"We want a transparent, fair election process, because we’ve come through a lot in the last eight years. We don’t want to spoil that all by changing the ball game on the last day."
The former military strongman says he will secure an outright majority and is reluctant to say what he will do if he does not.
"I think you're all invited, you can come and watch us celebrate," he told reporters as he left his polling booth.
Keen to exercise their democratic rights, Fiji’s almost 600,000 voters were keen and queued up early to cast their ballots
The had a choice of 248 candidates, representing seven parties for 50 seats in parliament.
Australia is co-leading the international election observer mission with Indonesia to ensure all goes well.
It’s consistent with what we’ve seen at the pre-polling venues, which is that the people are very enthusiastic,” said the Multinational Election Observer mission’s Australian observer co-ordinator Andrew Goledzinowski.
"The election officials are doing their best, it’s a very complex voting system, but their exercising Fijian common sense which is great to see."
It has been eight years since the last election and a fifth of Fijians are voting for the first time.
Young Fijians have been pushing for democratic freedoms.
“After eight years of living in a very constrained and suppressed environment, we are just hopeful at this point that due process will come back, that we’ll have a full, functioning transparent parliament, we just want a full functioning government that will be accountable to the people again,” said Monica Waganisau who was once arrested for wearing a t-shirt considered critical of the government.
Also voting for the first time was gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender rights activist Kris Prasad.
“After living in a dictatorship for so long we just hope that everyone works together and get a peaceful resolution coming out of this election and I think that’s one of the most immediate things that we’ll be looking forward too,” said Mr Prasad.
But the road to full democracy could be a long one says Dr Steve Ratuva who is from Fiji but teaches at the Center for Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland.
“Returning democracy to Fiji does not end tomorrow, does not end when the new government comes into power, it should be a perpetual process of rethinking, re-evaluation, of participation and sustainable engagement,” said Dr Ratuva.
“Historically the election hasn’t been the problem, we’ve had fair and free elections, it’s usually after the election. Our coups have happened after the election.”
Election officials will be counting throughout the night and a result should be known within 24 hours.
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