Rabuka sworn in as Fiji's prime minister

The Fijian parliament elected Rabuka on Christmas Eve after days of political turmoil with the previous FijiFirst government refusing to concede and the army called in to help police maintain law and order.

He won the ballot 28 votes to 27 against Bainimarama.

President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere swore Rabuka in at State House after his election.

Rabuka got the numbers to rule in a tripartite coalition headed by his centre-right People's Alliance party.

The more liberal democratic National Federation Party added its five seats to the tally while the king-making, Indigenous-focused Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) sided with the coalition after days of deliberations.

FijiFirst commands 26 seats and People's Alliance 21 in the 55-member parliament.

It means one coalition member crossed the floor and voted against Rabuka and their pick for speaker.

SODELPA's management board said the directive to vote for the coalition was legally binding after the democratic vote.

The ballot was conducted in secret but with People's Alliance and the National Federation Party campaigning together, it was likely one of the two SODELPA backbenchers after the party was split on who to form government with.

National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad nominated his chief for the speakership, with the speaker coming from outside of parliament.

Former opposition leader Ratu Naiqama will take up the mantle.

National Federation Party MP Lenora Qereqeretabua is the new deputy speaker.

Prasad, SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka and the People's Alliance Manoa Kamikamica were all sworn in as deputy prime ministers.

Gavoka said democracy had won when asked about his colleague crossing the floor.

"We live in a wonderful country. Our system of governance is the best in this part of the world," he said.

"We have managed to come through and we are here today with a new government to take us through.

"There are great days ahead of us."

Bainimarama thanked his supporters after the vote, saying democracy was his legacy after rewriting the constitution following his taking power through a coup.

"This is democracy and this is my legacy, the 2013 constitution," he said.

The board had to reconvene and vote a second time this week after non-current members voted in the first ballot.

Rabuka said the decision marked "a turning point in Fiji's modern history".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated Rabuka on social media.

"I look forward to strengthening our countries relationship even further in 2023," he wrote on Twitter.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta also welcomed Rabuka's election, writing on Twitter that the nation valued its strong relationship with Fiji and its support for shared priorities in the Pacific.

Ahead of parliament reconvening, Bainimarama and the police commissioner had seized on reports of stonings against minority Indian Fijians to bring in the army to assist in maintaining law and order in the coup-marred nation.

Few details of the attacks have been revealed.

Opposition parties have cast doubt about the severity of the reports, with Prasad saying the reports were exaggerated.

He said Fijians were united and behind the new government, with there being a sense of excitement and exuberance in the community.

"We want to create a new style of government," said the man who had criticised Bainimarama for being dictatorial.

"Where we will have dialogues, where we will be consulting, where there will be no vindictiveness.

"We are going to unite the people of this country."

Indo-Fijians used the hashtag FijiIsUnited, writing on social media: "I fall in the minority group in Fiji and I have felt completely safe in the lead up to elections, during elections and post-elections."

Tensions between Indigenous Fijians - about 60 per cent of the population - and Indo-Fijians, the descendants of indentured Indian labourers who make up about one-third, have marred politics.

This article was made possible through the Melbourne Press Club's Michael Gordon Journalism Fellowship Program.

Australian Associated Press