On Wednesday, 14 December, Fiji voters will elect a new Prime Minister.

A close call between the sitting Frank Bainamarama and his challenger Sitiveni Rabuka is forecast.

The outcome will have a major influence on Fiji's economy and its people in the future as poverty is a major problem affecting most Fijians.

Some commentators claim that donor foreign aid has been used by the present government to boost its election prospects.

PEN suggests that the NZ Government needs to check this as it has developed a view that much on the NZ Aid budget is diverted to non aid functions.

Past elections have been negatively influenced by the Fijian military, but we note that the commander of its forces has declared that the military will not intervene in Wednesday's result.

We will be watching with interest.