Ovini Bokini
Ratu Ovini Bokini is a Fijian statesman. On July 21 2004, he succeeded Ratu Epeli Ganilau as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs. A formal gathering of senior traditional chiefs, along with some appointees of the national government and provincial councils, the Great Council of Chiefs functions as an electoral college to select Fiji's President, along with 14 of the 32 members of the Senate. Informally, the Council advises the Fijian government on every aspect political life. Although not mandated by the Constitution, the Chairman's role is therefore a very influential one.
Bokini was chosen to fill this position after his predecessor, Ratu Ganilau, had become embroiled in political controversy, calling for the resignation of the then-Vice President, Ratu Jope Seniloli (who has since been convicted of treason), and proposing the revival of the country's former ruling political party, the Fijian Alliance, as a multi-racial party, hinting that he would play a role in it. Many politicians feared that Ganilau was compromising the neutrality of the Council, and it is thought that government pressure played a role in the decision of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council to replace him as their representative with the less controversial Bokini.
The sentencing of Vice-President Seniloli to four years' imprisonment for treason on August 6 2004 created fears of a possible power vacuum should anything happen to the ailing 83-year old President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Constitutional experts, however, said that as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, Ratu Bokini could choose to assume the role of Vice-President in an interim capacity. Bokini has not as yet commented on this prospect.
Bokini was a member of the House of Representatives in the 1990s, and also served in the Cabinet, holding a variety of portfolios.
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