Jope Seniloli
Ratu Jope Seniloli (born 1939) was the Vice-President of Fiji from 13 July 2000 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following his conviction for treason on August 6 2004, and the rejection of his appeal early in November.
Seniloli was appointed Vice-President in 2000 as an apparent gesture of appeasement towards the supporters of the 2000 coup which deposed the lawfully elected government of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. The August 6 2004 verdict found Seniloli guilty of unlawfully proclaiming himself President during the coup, and of illegally swearing in cabinet ministers, including George Speight, the chief instigator of the coup, as Prime Minister. Seniloli's lawyer, Mehboob Raza, maintained that he had done so only "under duress," at gunpoint, a defence rejected by Hight Court Justice Nazhat Shameem, who agreed with the state prosecutor that Seniloli had known of the coup plot in advance and had deliberately aided and abetted it. Shameem said that she had originally intended to sentence Seniloli to six years' imprisonment, but had opted for a four-year sentence instead, taking account of his many years of service to Fiji, including thirty-three years as a schoolteacher.
Along with Seniloli, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure, and three other defendants, were sentenced to terms of between one and six years for the same offence.
In a controversial move, Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale announced on 29 November 2004 that he had decided to release Seniloli from prison on medical grounds, a decision which angered the Fiji Military Forces and the Labour Party. "The FLP is outraged by the jailed VP’s early release from prison. This is nothing but a conspiracy by the Government to save those who are in positions of power," declared Senator Jokapeci Koroi, the national president of the Labour Party, who called the release of Seniloli, who had served less than four months of his four year term, an "act of defiance to subvert the course of justice and the rule of law."
Ratu Seniloli's early release was coupled with his resignation from office. Although not stated, this was believed to be a condition of his release.
By law, prisoners are not eligible for release until half their sentence has been served, but a special case was made for Seniloli due to the poor state of his health. He was released into "compulsory supervision," under which he is required to report daily to the police, and is not allowed to change his address or travel outside of Fiji without permission.
The Fijian Constitution assigns a purely ceremonial role to the Vice-President, with one important exception: he assumes the powers and duties of the Presidency in the event of the President being unable to carry out his duties. With the 83-year old President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo suffering from Parkinson's Disease and requiring frequent visits to Australia for medical treatment, the resignation of the Vice-President leaves Fiji with no one to take Iloilo's place should he become incapacitated. Constitutional experts, however, have suggested that Ratu Ovini Bokini, the Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, could choose to act as an interim Vice-President in Seniloli's place. Meanwhile, the Great Council of Chiefs is expected to elect a new Vice-President shortly, with Epeli Nailatikau, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, considered a front-runner.