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Fiji Cabinet Swearing in Ceremony Postponed
The planned swearing-in of Fiji's new cabinet was deferred, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported Wednesday.
It was due to take place Wednesday morning, but the interim prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, said President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, was unwell and could not preside over the ceremony, the ABC said. Qarase told cabinet ministers who arrived to take the oath that the swearing-in had been deferred to a date to be fixed at a later stage.
Speculation about the ceremony's going-ahead arose Wednesday morning when Fiji's coup leader George Speight said the president had told him it had been called off. Speight had complained that he was not given the opportunity to review the list of the prospective ministers and that the cabinet does not include enough members that are supportive of his May 19 coup.
While Speight implied the factors behind the postponement of the swearing-in ceremony were political, but the official line was that the president's ill-health was the reason for the delay.
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