With about half of the votes counted, FijiFirst was ahead with 53 per cent while closest rival the Social Democratic Liberal Party, led by Sitiveni Rabuka, was at 37 per cent. The margin was closer than in the last election, when FijiFirst won almost 60 per cent of the vote.

Voters in the Pacific nation on Wednesday went to the polls for only the second time since Mr Bainimarama seized power in a military coup in 2006.

There are six parties running this year for 51 proportionally allocated seats. The third-placed National Federation Party is on 6.88 per cent. Counting will continue through the night.

Heavy rain earlier wreaked havoc for election authorities.

The Fijian Election Office closed dozens of polling stations early throughout the day and more than 7000 affected voters are scheduled to get a chance at a later date.

Looming thunderstorms had been tipped to dampen turnout, and election supervisor Mohammed Saneem on Wednesday told reporters there had been worryingly low results in some areas during the morning.

More than 500,000 of the country's 920,000 residents had been expected to come out.

Police said no major incidents had been reported at stations.

Polling in the run-up suggested Mr Bainimarama's party was likely to win a second term, after campaigning on the back of a period of strong economic growth, relative political stability, and improved social services.

He also accused Mr Rabuka of stirring racism between the Indo-Fijian population - who broadly back FijiFirst - and the indigenous community (who make up nearly 60 per cent of the country) with some policies.

Opponents, meanwhile, branded Mr Bainimarama authoritarian and promised to raise the minimum wage. Mr Rabuka voiced concerns about the country's indebtedness to China.

Between Fiji's history of coups and the two former military leaders running, worries have also been raised about election day tensions.

Police tried to talk down those fears and deployed more than 2000 officers on Wednesday, while the military promised to respect the outcome.

Monitors in Fiji this week said they had seen no evidence of wrongdoing in the run-up and early voting, but were keeping a close eye on election day.

Mr Rabuka was questioned by police on Saturday night and only cleared on Monday afternoon to stand after a government appeal over his earlier acquittal on financial declaration charges with dismissed.

Taking power while head of the military in 2006, Mr Bainimarama allowed an election in 2014 and won in a landslide.

While his government moved closer to China in response to Western sanctions following the coup, Fiji's relationship with Australia has grown significantly stronger in recent years.

Australian Associated Press