<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Former military commander Sitiveni Rabuka was on Saturday confirmed as Fiji's prime minister, after accusing the outgoing government of stoking "fear and chaos" to derail his return to power.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Rabuka replaces the imposing Frank Bainimarama, who toppled the government in a 2006 coup and became prime minister a year later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 74-year-old Rabuka said he felt "humbled" as he made his way out of parliament to be sworn in by the country's president.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two-time coup leader and former prime minister -- nicknamed "Rambo" -- narrowly triumphed over Bainimarama by 28 votes to 27 in a secret ballot held in parliament, speaker Naiqama Lalabalavu announced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A chorus of cars honked in celebration as they drove past the parliamentary building in the capital Suva after the vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">European Union ambassador for the Pacific Sujiro Seam tweeted his congratulations to Rabuka shortly after the announcement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The military had been deployed on the streets of Suva as Rabuka and Bainimarama raced to cobble together a coalition government following a deadlocked general election.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Citing unsubstantiated reports of ethnic violence, Bainimarama said the military was needed to maintain "law and order".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Rabuka -- who served as prime minister between 1992 and 1999 -- said the government was "sowing fear and chaos" and "trying to set the nation alight along racial lines".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bainimarama is yet to concede defeat, and it was not immediately clear whether he would sit in opposition or resign as the leader of the Fiji First party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;- 'Climate of fear' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many Fijians feared the government's claims of ethnic violence -- and the subsequent military deployment -- were a pretext for a "creeping coup".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While not an outright autocrat, Bainimarama's government had frequently used the legal system to sideline opponents, silence critics and muzzle the media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police summoned Rabuka for questioning after he asked the military to step in and help resolve an election night "glitch" that delayed results for hours.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The way this government has operated, we've been talking about a climate of fear," he said at the time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This is how they instil that fear."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It marks an extraordinary political comeback for Rabuka.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The former Fijian rugby international locked in a coalition deal to form a government on Friday afternoon, after successfully wooing the kingmaker SODELPA party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SODELPA had earlier chosen Rabuka's People's Alliance over Bainimarama's Fiji First, but that first vote was ruled invalid by the country's election supervisor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fiji has been upended by four coups in the past 35 years. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>