SUVA, Fiji - Fiji's interim prime minister, who was installed by a military coup, said Thursday it could be two years before elections restore the South Pacific island to democracy.

Fijian military Commodore Frank Bainimarama, left, shakes hands with Dr. Jona Senilagakali after he was sworn in as caretaker prime minister at a ceremony at the main military barracks in the capital, Suva Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006. Earlier, Bainimarama ordered the state of emergency, saying a security cordon would immediately be set up around Suva, check points established at strategic points in the city, and that all military reserves would be 'marched into' military camps to support the regime. [AP]

Military medic Dr. Jona Senilagakali - who said he only took the job of prime minister because he was ordered to do so by his commanding officer - also said he thought the coup led by Commander Frank Bainimarama was illegal.

Senilagakali said Thursday the timing of the elections would "totally be up to" Bainimarama.

"Hopefully in 12 months, two years, we'll be able to have a general election," he said.

Contradicting Bainimarama's claims to working within the constitution, Senilagakali told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio, "There's no doubt about it, it's an illegal takeover."

Bainimarama has said a military council will rule until he can appoint an interim government that will eventually call elections to restore democracy. Senilagakali is his only appointment so far.

Tuesday's coup - Fiji's fourth in nearly two decades - was the culmination of a long impasse between Bainimarama and ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase over bills offering pardons to conspirators in a 2000 coup and handing lucrative coastal land ownership to indigenous Fijians.