Fiji’s Great Council of Chiefs, the GCC, maintains that Ratu Josefa Iloilo is still the legal president and head of state of Fiji. This comes a day after the military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, made himself acting president and unsuccessfully sought the resignation of the prime minister. Commodore Bainimarama then announced that he had dissolved parliament and made new appointments. Soldiers also removed the vice president, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, from his office and his official residence yesterday.The head of the Council of Chiefs, Ratu Ovini Bokini, said that the removal was illegal. “Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi is a fine Chief and highly respected member of the legal profession, a former High Court Judge who is legally and unanimously appointed by the Chiefs. Ratu Joni’s removal from office is illegal and unconstitutional and disrespectful.”
Ratu Ovini Bokini says there is concern that the military may also attempt to remove the president, Ratu Josefa Iloilo from his residence after Government House issued a statement which failed to approve the military take-over. Ratu Ovini also says the GCC has called on all soldiers to "lay their arms down, return to barracks" and carry out their normal duties. And, New ZealandÂ’s Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has again called on Fijian military officers to ask the commander, coup leader Frank Bainimirama, to step down.