THOUSANDS of Fijians got their first chance to vote in eight years in an election that promises to finally restore democracy to the South Pacific nation of 900,000.
Yet as polls opened, plenty of questions remain about how far military ruler Voreqe Bainimarama has tilted the outcome in his favour.
He is running as a candidate and polls indicate his party is by far the most popular of the seven contesting the election.
The question appears to be not whether his Fiji First party will receive the most votes, but whether it will gain an outright majority of Parliament's 50 seats under Fiji's new proportional system.
Anything less could force Mr Bainimarama to share power, not something he is familiar with after years of ruling by decree.
If the election is deemed fair by international observers, it will probably wash away the last remaining barriers put up by western countries after Mr Bainimarama first seized power in a 2006 coup.
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