Two former prime ministers weighed in on the appointment; Mahendra Chaudhry called on the nominees to be disqualified, citing Section 83 (1) (c) of the 2013 constitution, which requires that the holder of the office not be affiliated with any political party as Katonivere was the incumbent president of FijiFirst party, and Kepa was a member of SODELPA. Meanwhile Sitiveni Rabuka praised Katonivere's appointment, adding that it showed that the people still have respect for the chiefly system of Fiji.