Indo-Fijian opposition. The party won five seats in the general election of 1994, which was called three years early because of political instability. Following Kamikamica's death from cancer in 1996, Ratu Finau Mara (the son of then-PresidentRatu Sir Kamisese Mara) took over the leadership. In 1998, he was replaced by Adi Kuini Speed, the widow of former Fiji Labour Party (FLP) Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, who had been deposed in a coup led by Rabuka, then a lieutenant colonel in the army, in 1987. Speed joined the FAP in 1995 after falling out with her late husband's party over the direction in which Mahendra Chaudhry
, the new leader, was taking it.
In the
Indo-Fijians, sought partnerships with parties led by ethnic Fijians in order to broaden its support base. The FAP won ten seats in the 71-member House of Representatives, its best result ever. The FAP initially proposed Speed for Prime Minister, saying that she would be more acceptable to indigenous Fijians than Chaudhry. President Mara, however, persuaded her to accept Chaudhry as Prime Minister, pointing out that the FLP had won a majority - 37 seats - in its own right. Towards the end of 1999, Speed survived a challenge to her leadership of the FAP in a divisive High Court case, which resulted in backbencherRatu Tu'uakitau Cokanauto
and his supporters splitting from the party.
The government of which the FAP was a part was deposed in the
Indo-Fijian electorate, accusing the United Fiji Party of promoting racism. The electorate was polarized to an extent not seen for more than a decade, however, with ethnic Fijians rallying behind the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua and its ally, the Conservative Alliance
, and Indo-Fijians behind the FLP. All FAP candidates, including Speed, were defeated.
