The leader of the Fiji Labour Party is alleging possible electoral fraud after the nation went to the polls on Wednesday.
Votes from about half of the country's polling stations have been counted so far, showing the incumbent ruling party Fiji First with 41 per cent.
Fiji Labour Party leader and former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry says he has received calls from people who say they voted for him at polling stations where the official results show he received no votes.
A final election result is expected on Sunday.
The calls follow a day after Fiji's main opposition party leader Sitiveni Rabuka was questioned by police in the wake of the country's general election.
It has been a dramatic few days for the Pacific nation, as Fijians went to the polls on Wednesday for the country's third election since the military coup in 2006.
The turnout this time around was only about 60 per cent — the lowest in a decade — but the voting process itself was reportedly peaceful and orderly.
Constituents appeared to be optimistic, keen to see the next government address rising living costs, unemployment, and social welfare.
The results are being progressively published in batches with the final outcome due to be announced on Sunday morning.
However, a "glitch" with the voting results app during the first night of counting prompted opposition leaders to call for a complete recount and left voters suspicious of the entire process.
Sitiveni Rabuka, the leader of Fiji's main opposition party People's Alliance, said he was questioned by police about his party's activities over the past few days.
He said he had not been arrested or charged with anything.
"Stay calm, stay calm everybody," Mr Rabuka said late last night.
When asked by the ABC what he was questioned about, he responded; "Some of the things we have done."
The People's Alliance leader seemed in good spirits, laughing and smiling as he drove away from the police station.
What have opposition parties said?
Prior to the police questioning, Fiji's major opposition parties launched a public petition on Friday questioning the credibility of Fiji's electoral system and asking for a forensic audit of the platform used to publish official election results.
Mr Rabuka said he was concerned by the voting results system because it was plagued with technical problems.
"The coalition of five parties no longer have faith in the integrity of the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) following its refusal to fully explain the so-called glitches in the app," he said.
The opposition parties had earlier demanded counting be stopped, and a full recount of votes take place.
Mr Rabuka also flagged he would make a formal complaint against the FEO and seek military support, but stopped short of calling it a coup.
He referred to a section of the Fiji constitution that says the military commander has a responsibility to "ensure at all times the security, defence and wellbeing of Fiji and all Fijians".
Mr Rabuka had on Thursday suggested that the commander could "endorse" his call for a halt to the vote count, if he thought that was appropriate.
Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai told TV station FBC news on Friday that the military would put its trust in the electoral process and not get involved, Reuters reported.
"I wish to reassure the people of Fiji that the RFMF [armed forces] will not respond to Rabuka's insistence or any political party, that we intervene," he said in a separate interview with broadcaster RNZ Pacific, according to Reuters.
Fiji's Supervisor of Elections Mohammad Saneem has stood by the electoral process, saying the count was open for all parties to observe, and said Mr Rabuka was milking the situation to avoid admitting defeat.
Incumbent Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has not returned the ABC's requests for comment.
What do the election observers say?
The Multinational Observer Group (MOG) was on the ground at Fiji's vote count centre when the technical glitch on the FEO app occurred and said the mistake had been resolved.
"Obviously, the glitch was a cause for concern for many people," MOG co-chair Rebekha Sharkie said, who is also an MP for the Centre Alliance party in the Australian Parliament.
"We had observers on the ground when the mobile results application glitch occurred in the evening and we were notified immediately," she said.
"We understand the error was resolved and of course, that was the provisional votes; we're now on the final count and that is what our focus is on."
The MOG said in a statement on Friday that it "did not observe any significant irregularities or issues during pre polling, postal voting or Election Day voting" and assessed Fijian voters were able to exercise their right to vote freely.
They also said the Fijian Elections Office had made substantive effort to raise voter awareness, adding it did not consider the voter turnout of 52 per cent, the lowest in Fiji's history according to political scientist Dr Mosmi Bhi, to impact in any way on the credibility of the results.
It added the increase in registered voter registration was a testament to improved administration and operations of the FEO.
While it noted that many non-government stakeholders reported increased restrictions on election related activities and discourse, it conceded it could not investigate matters.
"It's not our job to investigate. Our job is to observe, make commentary and then leave it to the officials. We will make recommendations and that will be in the final report," it said.
The MOG is scheduled to make more thorough recommendations in the first quarter of 2023 but said it was "a matter for the government and a matter for the people of Fiji with respect to how those recommendations are implemented".
"We believe that we have carried out our role and will continue to carry out our role with diligence," it said.
How have Fijians responded?
Fijian voter Eroni Masivulaono said he felt "very frustrated when things go like this".
"I was going on the app … and from Wednesday night to Thursday morning nothing, so I'm buying a newspaper to see what's the update," he said.
"I'm frustrated about the result of the counting. It shouldn't be done like that."
Mr Masivulaono said the glitch had eroded his trust in the electoral process.
"I don't believe in the election system no more – recounting or whatever – I don't trust the system," he said.
"What guarantee is there that they'll do it right this time? They f***ed up the first time.
"That's their right, as a party but us, we need to know the result fair and square.
"They'll say, 'we'll do it right the next time but come the morning, still the same thing but they have a different story'."
Where do things stand at the moment?
While the outcome of the election will not be known until Sunday morning, final results are trickling through.
As of early Saturday morning, the results app showed incumbent Fiji First had pulled ahead with 40 per cent of the vote, while Mr Rabuka's opposition People's Alliance had almost 37 per cent.
So far 717 of 2071 polling stations have been counted.
