Fiji's ruler sets election date

Cmdr Bainimarama seized power in December 2006

Fiji's military ruler says he plans to call elections in 2010, restoring parliamentary democracy to the coup-hit country.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama said he hoped to improve Fiji's economy and put in place all the necessary measures for a free and fair election by then.

Cmdr Bainimarama ousted the elected government of Laisenia Qarase last December, claiming it was corrupt.

The coup - Fiji's fourth in two decades - was condemned internationally.

Cmdr Bainimarama was speaking a day after a report by the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional body, described the coup as unconstitutional and called for fresh elections in 18 months.

Sanctions

Cmdr Bainimarama outlined plans to improve the "precarious state of the nation's finances" in order to create more jobs and better opportunities for Fijians.

FIJI TENSIONS TIMELINE 2000: Brief coup put down by army chief Bainimarama July 2005: Bainimarama warns he will topple government if it pardons jailed coup plotters May 2006: PM Laisenia Qarase wins re-election 31 Oct: Qarase tries - and fails - to replace Bainimarama November: Qarase says he will change law offering clemency to coup plotters - Bainimarama warns of coup 5 Dec: Military declares coup Fiji voices: Coup impact Fears for future History of coups

Preparations for the elections would include a constitutional review, a population census and an examination of electoral boundaries, he went on.

"Under this roadmap, Fiji will be ready for a general election and a full restoration of parliamentary democracy in 2010," he said in a statement.

Cmdr Bainimarama installed an interim government and made himself prime minister after leading a bloodless coup against the elected government on 5 December.

He said he was compelled to act as corruption and racism against Fiji's ethnic Indian minority was flourishing under Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase

However, the coup has faced opposition both at home and abroad, with economic, diplomatic and defence sanctions imposed by Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States.