Fiji talks to focus on elections

Military leader Frank Bainimarama seized power in December 2006

Foreign ministers from the South Pacific region are gathering in Fiji to urge the government to return the country to democratic rule.

It is the most senior diplomatic mission to Fiji since military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in 2006.

The meeting comes amid fears Mr Bainimarama will shelve a pledge to hold elections in early 2009.

He says he wants to end corruption before polls can take place.

Top diplomats from six nations - Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tuvalu - are travelling to Fiji for the two-day talks.

They will meet government and elections officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, and report back to a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum next month.

Mr Bainimarama has governed Fiji since ousting elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in December 2006, accusing him of corruption.

Last month, he told soldiers that elections promised for early next year were unlikely to take place because corruption problems remained.

Regional leaders and the European Union have expressed concern over any potential slippage of the election timetable.

Australia remained "very concerned about the situation in Fiji and again calls on the interim government to honour its faithful and unconditional commitment to hold a democratic election in the first quarter of 2009," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement before his departure for the talks.

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