Party of National Unity (PANU) leader Ponipate Lesavua endorsed Iloilo on 27 February and called on the chiefs of Ba and Burebasaga to rally behind him. He hoped that in making their selection, the chiefs would consider that no country should be ruled by ex-convicts. ""We need clean and honest people running the nation so our chiefs should give them (Iloilo and Madraiwiwi) a second chance rather than choosing those people that have come out of jail for offences that could be described to be similar to murder,"" the Fiji Times quoted him as saying.