If, else if, else statement causing syntax error in EJS - Unexpeted Identifier [duplicate]

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• How do I escape a single quote ( ' ) in JavaScript? [duplicate] 5 answers

I'm currently working on a simple web app for hosting games, just to mess around. I have some javascript/json files for handling HTTP requests and setting up variables within the rendered HTML pages. However, I'm running into a weird problem when trying to use if, else if, else statements in my EJS files. Specifically, I'm running into a syntax error stating there is an unexpected identifier while compiling ejs. Here is snippet of my code from the EJS file below:

<%
var friendsList = '';
if (current_user.username == 'Guest') {
    friendsList += '<li>Login to see your friends online</li>';
}
else if(current_user.friends.length == 0) {
    friendsList += '<li>You haven't made any friends yet</li>';
}
else {
    for (i=0; i<current_user.friends.length; i++) {
        friendsList += '<li>' + current_user.friends[i] + '</li>';
    }
} %>
<%- friendsList %>

The idea is to buildup a javascript string that matches HTML formatting and then insert that string directly into the existing HTML in the EJS file. This code results in the error I described. However, if I remove the else-if part of the statement as shown below:

<%
var friendsList = '';
if (current_user.username == 'Guest') {
    friendsList += '<li>Login to see your friends online</li>';
}
else {
    for (i=0; i<current_user.friends.length; i++) {
        friendsList += '<li>' + current_user.friends[i] + '</li>';
    }
} %>
<%- friendsList %>

there is no error and the HTML renders the way I want it to, albeit with some missing functionality. I have wracked my brain and looked into why the code is behaving like this all day but cannot find a solution. Does anyone know why the EJS isn't compiling with the else-if statement included?