As two former military strongmen go head to head in Fiji's national election, eyes are peeled on the fairness of the process and the ever-looming danger of a coup.
Fiji's voters will on Wednesday head to the polls for only the second time since Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama seized power in a military coup in 2006.
But with a 48-hour media blackout in force from Monday, political parties have spent their last few days taking down signs and online content, rather than campaigning.
It's not been all silence, though.
Mr Bainimarama's leading rival, former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, was on Monday cleared to stand after the High Court in Suva dismissed a corruption watchdog appeal against his earlier acquittal over financial disclosure charges.
Mr Rabuka - who himself led two coups in 1987 - was also taken in for questioning by police on Saturday over comments made on radio.
Victoria University of Wellington professor Jon Fraenkel says those events show there's reason to be concerned about electoral fairness.
"We need to watch the operation of the Fijian Electoral Office very closely over the days ahead," he told AAP ahead of the blackout.
Monitors in the country this week said they had only seen minor glitches and no evidence of wrongdoing in the run-up, but were keeping a close eye on events.
Between Fiji's coup-prone history and two former military leaders running, some worries have also been raised about election-day tensions.
Police have tried to hose down fears of a coup and the military has promised to accept the final outcome.
Canberra will also be watching to see what the election means for its bilateral relationship.
While Australia's ties with Fiji have strengthened considerably in recent years, Fiji's opposition parties have expressed concern about China's internal influence.
Mr Rabuka has been the most outspoken critic of Fiji's debt levels to China, and could potentially be seen as closer to Australia, Prof Fraenkel said.
Six parties are contesting the election. Mr Bainimarama's FijiFirst party in 2014 won 32 of 50 seats in parliament and Mr Rabuka's Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) took 15.
Prof Fraenkel said early signs suggested a repeat Bainimarama victory, but a repeat performance was less likely.
"Having a tough strongman alternative to Bainimarama does seem to have stoked aspirations for change," he said.
"There may be a coalition government required."
With the country's Fiji Indian community strongly backing FijiFirst, it was indigenous voters - more than 60 per cent of the population - who would decide the outcome.
"Many indigenous voters wary of the endless polarisation, and mind games, of FijiFirst, and there is also considerable anti-Muslim sentiment targeted at the Attorney-General and his many appointees," Prof Fraenkel said.
Thunderstorms predicted for Wednesday have raised speculation the turnout could be suppressed compared to 2014.
Australian Associated Press
