Former President Mohamed Nasheed has rejoined his party’s ‘Journey of Pledges’ in the southern atolls following his release from custody on Wednesday.
Prior to his original departure last week on the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) campaign trip, Nasheed was placed under a travel ban restricting his movements to the capital.
The Department of Judicial Administration have confirmed that Nasheed had requested permission before leaving the Male’ area to rejoin his party. The Foreign Ministry observed in a statement that Nasheed was no longer under a travel ban.
He has since flown south and rejoined his party which is currently in Fuvamulah in Gnaviyani Atoll, continuing its door to door programs and policy workshops in order to gather information ahead of the next election – scheduled for July 2013 at the earliest.
Nasheed had been returned to Male’ on Monday after the Hulhumale’ Magistrates Court ordered the police to produce him at the first hearing in the Judge Abdullah Mohamed detention case on Tuesday.
Nasheed’s lawyers asked the three member panel of judges to give them a time period of 30 days to study the evidence and prepare a defence.
The judges however gave a period of 25 days. They announced that the next hearing would be held on November 4, 2012.
He will fly back to Male’ after the completion of the campaign at the Equatorial Convention Center in Hithadhoo on Saturday October 13 while the rest of the five boat flotilla returns separately.
Information gathering
President of the MDP’s Youth Wing, Shauna Aminath, said that the trip had been extremely useful in gathering specific information on the situation in the atolls.
A similar trip is planned for the northern atolls before the end of the year.
Shauna said that the party had been made aware of the deficiencies in public service provision in a number of areas.
“At almost every island, people have said that since February 7 they have been having problems receiving benefits for single mothers and for those with special needs,” she said.
Shauna also noted a failure to provide consistent public transport as promoted under the Nasheed administration.
“Almost every island said the ferry system had been stopped by non-MDP councils,” said Shauna. “People have grown to appreciate the need for public transport – we found a way around the problems but the people who have the passion and commitment are not there.”
Shauna said that some ferry services were refusing to take small numbers of passengers while others even asked passengers to provide fuel for the service.
She also alleged that the party had gathered information regarding the sacking of MDP supporting government workers since February in what she described as a “witch-hunt”.
The seeming reversal of decentralisation policies observed in the trip – such as those concerning local health workers – was reminiscent of the “old style” under the 30 year Presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said Shauna.
In April the government announced its intention to annul provincial health and utility corporations in an attempt to streamline and improve service delivery.
The Local Government Authority (LGA) has said that it intends to revise the current system of local governance which it has described as prohibitively expensive for the country – which is said to cost US$12 million a year in salaries.
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People of the Southern atolls,,keep your President there..Do you really need Male to govern you ???
"Your President?".
The man who used Addu as a tool to carry out the largest scam know in entire history. The man who used Addu as the venue for mass corruption on an as-yet unheard-of scale?
The man who chased out several proud sons of Addu from his Cabinet. The man who used deceit and bribery to deny one of the most accomplished men of Addu, Dr. Mohamed Munavvar of a rightful win in the MDP's first internal Presidential primary?
The man who labelled Addu as a city without deciding on the minimum requirements for such a label to ring true? If those requirements had been set he would have been honor bound as President to start infrastructure projects in Addu.
People of the South, declare your Indpendence and make Anni Nasheed your President. PLEASE Do us a favor
@ gordie. i call on all subjects of her majesty the queen of england to declare free from her absolute sovereignty on you and all the swans. you are already behind the rest of the world in modern governance. to become a 21st century government you need to write a constitution to start with. oh wait. thats not first. first, reform the house of lords so that you have elected law makers instead of lords selected by the queen. then go on abolishing laws that favor one family over the rest of the population. such as "The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen" and "It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down".
i know you, Larry[geordie]Dodds is one of those british officers stationed in gan during the war and most probably one of those bullied addu people into breaking away from our country. you are even in your 80s, still encouraging us to breakaway from our government and become subjects of the holy queen? nah. never.
I think Larry's got a lot of love for the Maldives. I've read that website and seen what he's trying to do(student funding / Medical help etc).
He's not advocating Addu become subjects of the queen.
The political and judicial systems in the UK work FAR better than that of the Maldives so you're on shaky ground there.
The trouble is, wherever you are in the world, ALL politicians are the same. They make the big promises, get elected, than get constrained by big business..... Same all over the world.
Ayya,,you are talking to a Brit who loves the Maldives and the Maldivian people.A Brit who only wants the best for you and your country..Gayoom and his 'cronies' are not the answer.There was a chance for a new start,but it was never given that chance.Anni should have at least been given his full elected term,,then if you were not satisfied,then vote him out at the election,thats democracy..Dictators only use countries for their own gain,just think back over the last 30yrs--who made their fortune--you know and I know,,and it wasn't the ordinary Maldivian working man..
@tsk tsk.
Yes! "your president" is in every heart of the Maldivian!
He can be the dirtiest of all dirty people, but he can never ever come closer to "your beloved Gayyoom" the saint, who never did any such thing as defaming anyone or disable anyone who he chooses from us people or those close to him!
Sheikh Ahmed Adam is living example of Gayyoom's love for people especially if he loathed!
Boy! Sheikh Ahmed Adam is all vegetable now! You know it because you are either Gayyoom or one of those who worship him.
If you ever care, go ask people who knew Gayyoom and Ahmed Adam, why he was hanged upside down!
Boy! You can be the best of spinners! No problem!
Dr. Munavvar undoubtedly is an accomplished man.
But, that evil GOLHA destroyed his image inch by inch until he got tired of him!
It was this connection that made him unpopular within the crowd who played politics to wave good bye for Gayyoom's dictatorship!
Yes, it was Dr. Munavvar's alliance with your evil Gayyoom that made him unpopular even with his own peoples!
Hashim,,thank you for your kind words..The point I was trying to make was>>if you elect a President,then he is entitled to serve his term of office..Gayoom and Co,had 30yrs and did nothing for the working man,,so surely your newely elected man[Anni] was entitled to his chance..Over here in the UK,,not everyone likes PM Cameron,but he will be given his full elected term..If he makes a poor job of it,then he might get put out of office..Once again thats democracy..Give it a chance..
may be ferry system is stopped because the ferry system is run by MDP activists ?
Anni use ferry system to give away few Islands for resort development for his close buddies and so does the system will collapse no sooner Anni leaves the office.
The mentally sick, corrupt and greedy now run the country.