Fiji’s military has pre-empted deposed prime minister Mr Mahendra Chaudhry's return to office, even as he gathered support for next month's general election.
Mr Chaudhry's Fiji Labour Party has been tipped to take the majority of the votes in elections, just as they did in 1999 when Fiji installed its first ethnic Indian premier.
Mr Chaudhry was overthrown in a coup on May 19th, 2000, by businessman Mr George Speight.
In an affidavit, Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said his forces would not let Fiji "revert to the pre-19 May 2000 status" - that is with Mr Chaudhry in charge.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mr Laisenia Qarase, who is not a member of parliament, is expected to be tapped for the post by President Mr Josefa Iloilo.
Mr Chaudhry, when asked if he expected the RFMF to allow him to resume office, replied: "They had better."
But leading lawyer Sir Vijay Singh speculated Mr Chaudhry would not become prime minister and said Mr Iloilo had much wider powers under the constitution to select a premier than convention previously dictated.
"He will ensure that Chaudhry is not the choice," he told AFP."They will never allow Mr Chaudhry to be prime minister. The whole exercise [coup] was targeted at one man."
AFP