Fiji says it has asked the Australian government to head the international observer group for the September elections and Canberra has accepted.
However, according to FBC News, Australia says it will only do so if there is a co-leader of the observer mission.
At the last Fiji election eight years ago, there were observers from among others the European Union, the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum.
New Zealand sent ten observers and contributed four million US dollars towards the polls.
A year ago, the regime leader, Rear Admiral Frank Bainimarama, proposed a joint Papua New Guinea and Melanesian Spearhead Group mission to observe the elections.
At the same time he said he didn't want a repeat of events in 2006 when the EU declared the election credible despite what he asserts were anomalies and fraud.
He removed the government later in the year in a military coup.
