With most of the votes now in, Mr Qarase's ruling SDL party is expected to hold at least 37 seats, giving him control of the 71-seat parliament.

Mr Qarase said he would abide by the constitution and invite his Labour rivals into a new Cabinet, but added he would rather they declined the offer.

Last week's poll was racially charged, pitting indigenous Fijians like Mr Qarase against ethnic Indians.

The main opponent to Mr Qarase was the ethnic Indian opposition leader Mahendra Chaudhry, head of the Labour Party.

Observers feared that the tension surrounding the poll could trigger violence from either side, and police and soldiers have been closely monitoring the situation.

Ethnic tensions have featured prominently in Fijian politics.

In 2000 a coup deposed Mr Chaudhry, who was then serving as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

'Working majority'

With results from 61 seats in the 71-member parliament now in, the indigenous-dominated SDL (Soqosoqo Duavata Ni Lewenivanua) party have definitely held on to at least 32 seats, while Labour have 25, according to results posted on the government's election website.

Both parties are expected to gain more, and Mr Qarase also said he also would have the support of two independent candidates.

"We will have a working majority and that's good enough," Mr Qarase told local radio on Wednesday as counting entered its final stages.

"The SDL party and my colleagues feel honoured and privileged to be the government of the day for the next five years," he said.

But Mr Chaudhry immediately rejected Mr Qarase's claim of victory, saying "He hasn't won this election yet. Let's wait and see the final outcome."

Mr Qarase said that, as required by Fiji's 1997 constitution, he will offer the Labour Party seats in a multiparty Cabinet.

But he said he hoped Mr Chaudhry would opt instead to remain in opposition, as he did after the 2001 election.

"I don't believe in a multi-party Cabinet. I believe that the party that wins should take it all, like in most other democracies," Mr Qarase said.

The final results are expected later on Wednesday.