The World - News from April 12, 1987

A left-leaning coalition in Fiji unseated pro-West Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who has governed Fiji since its independence from Britain 17 years ago, electoral officials said. An opposition coalition headed by Dr. Timoci Bavadra, 52, a family planning expert, won 27 seats in the 52-seat Parliament, against 21 seats for Mara’s Alliance Party. Three of the four remaining seats were expected to go to Bavadra, head of the multiracial Labor Party, which is allied with the Indian-dominated Federation Party. Mara, 66, a hereditary high chief, has governed the South Pacific nation of more than 100 islands since its independence in 1970. Voter turnout was put at 70%.