Author: Minivan News

Azima appointed special advisor to President Waheed

Less than one week after being removed from her position as Attorney General, Azima Shukoor has been appointed as Special Advisor to President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

The Maldivian Democratic Party had filed a no-confidence motion against Azima, arguing that she had demeaned the constitution, parliamentary powers and the integrity of the Attorney General’s post by advocating against the Elections Commission in September’s vote annulment case.

The appointment comes despite President Waheed’s term being constitutionally scheduled to end in just seven days. Whilst the Supreme Court has suggested he could legally continue in his role until a replacement is selected, the Majlis passed a motion last week providing for the speaker of the house to take over during any interim period.

Waheed himself has said that he does not wish to stay in office past the November 11 deadline. The re-scheduled election is due to take place this Saturday (November 9).

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International Democratic Union condemns “undemocratic” actions of police

The International Democratic Union (IDU) has released a statement condemning the “authoritarian”, “unconstitutional and undemocratic” role of the police in the cancellation of the October 19 presidential election.

“The IDU calls upon the President of the Maldives, the Government and all other political parties to ensure that the Elections Commissioner is empowered to hold a free and fair election to elect a new President immediately without interference from governmental authority,” read a press release from the group’s Executive Committee.

The IDU is a collection of over 54 centre-right political parties from around the globe who meet to discuss and exchange policy ideas. The group’s leadership includes former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and current UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The statement also expressed concern regarding potential restrictions on international election observers by the Government of Maldives.

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Prosecutor General asked to submit response in writing after havoc in committee meeting

A meeting of parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee held today for the Prosecutor General (PG) to respond to a no-confidence motion was called off after disorderly conduct from MPs of the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives, Jumhooree Party (JP), and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.

A motion was passed with the support of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party MPs to ask PG Ahmed Muiz to submit his defence in writing by 9pm tonight.

The pro-government MPs contended that the proceedings were in violation of parliamentary rules and harangued Chair MP Ahmed Sameer. MPs Riyaz Rasheed, Ilham Ahmed, Ali Arif, Abdul Muhsin Hameed and Ahmed Amir banged saucers and cups on the table and raised their voices.

JP Deputy Leader Ilham played music on his phone and held it up to a mic.

The MDP filed a no-confidence motion against Muiz last month claiming that the PG had failed to prosecute police officers who mutinied against the former government and assaulted protesters.

Today’s meeting was held after Muiz asked for more time to respond to the charges last week saying he had been on his annual leave when he received the summons to attend the committee.

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Health Minister Dr Jamsheed resigns

Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed resigned from the cabinet last week.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told local media that Jamsheed resigned to assume a post at the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to a statement by the President’s Office today, President Dr Mohamed Waheed “thanked him for his valuable services during his tenure as the Health Minister towards the development of the health sector.”

Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights Dr Aamal Ali has been appointed the Acting Minister of Health.

Dr Jamsheed was appointed health minister on February 12, 2012 following the controversial transfer of presidential power five days earlier. He was serving as the Chief Operation Officer at the ADK private hospital after resigning from the director general post at the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC).

With Dr Jamsheed’s resignation, the posts of Attorney General, Home Minister, Foreign Minister and Health Minister are currently vacant with a week left for the expiration of the current presidential term.

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High Court upholds Criminal Court decision to extend pre-trial detention of Azim

The High Court has upheld a Criminal Court decision to extend the detention period of Maldivian Democratic Party member Ali Azim, whose parliamentary seat is being contested by the Supreme Court and the Majlis.

Azim was arrested on charges that he attempted to assault a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer in control of the security of parliament. He has since been released to house arrest.

The High Court ruling on the appeal submitted by Azim stated that his arrest was lawful.

The High Court ruling stated that, on October 26, Azim went inside the parliament and attempted to assault an MNDF officer on duty, adding that it was the responsibility of the armed forces to stop anything that might be a threat to the security of  MPs.

The High Court ruling also said that Azim was arrested by police outside the parliament in the presence of his lawyer and that police have completed all the procedure stated in article 48 of the constitution.

Additionally, the High Court also noted that article 74 of the constitution states the Supreme Court has to determine if there is any dispute over the legitimacy of a parliamentarian and that, on October 24 at 6:30pm, the Supreme Court had ruled that Azim was disqualified from his seat and could no longer be considered a member of the Majlis.

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Two arrested with stolen items from the island of Mulak in Meemu Atoll

Police have arrested two persons with stolen items from the island of Mulak in Meemu Atoll.

According to police, the case was reported on the morning of October 31.

Police said officers searched the house the suspects were living in after obtaining a search warrant from the court, discovering stolen money, gold and 11 bullet sized rubber packets containing illegal drugs.

The two arrested were taken to the magistrate court in Mulee Island to decide on their detention period and the court have granted police a 15-day period to keep them in pre-trial detention.

Mulak police station is further investigating the case.

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Police arrest man who swam to Maafushi prison with mobile phones

Police have said last Friday (1 October) they have arrested a man who attempted to smuggle 23 mobile phones into Maafushi prison after swimming to the island.

According to police, the man is 28 years old and has previous records of assault, theft, obstruction of police duty and drug related offenses.

Police said the man was first captured by Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service prison officers and was later handed over to police.

When his body was searched police found 23 mobile phones, five charges and one headset, the police said.

Maafushi Police Station is now investigating the case.

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Police seeks public assistance in locating man who robbed a house and attacked a minor before fleeing

Police have asked for public assistance in locating a person identified as Mohamed Jinah, 27 from the island of Naifaru in Lhaviyani Atoll, who is accused of robbery and attacking a minor.

The police did not disclose further information on the case but said that police will provide security for anyone who can provide information regarding the whereabouts of the person.

Police asked anyone with any information regarding the person to contact police hotline 3322111 or police family and child protection department 9790163 or police emergency hotline 119.

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Commonwealth envoy returns for pre-election visit

Commonwealth Special Envoy for the Maldives will arrive in the Maldives today for a pre-election visit.

“Sir Donald McKinnon, will visit Male’ from 3 to 7 November 2013, as part of his continuing engagement with Maldives to promote the consolidation of democracy, and Commonwealth values and principles,” read a statement on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website.

During the Supreme Court’s investigation of alleged voter fraud during the first round of the presidential election on September 7, McKinnon advocated strongly for the second round to proceed as scheduled.

“This election marks a renewal of the country’s democratic credentials, with an 88 percent voter turnout. This displays a determination to get the country back on to a sound democratic foundation,” McKinnon said.

International opinion was “firmly behind” the second round of elections proceeding as planned on September 28, he said, noting that “There are always losers in every election everywhere, but the winners here must be the people of Maldives. The results of their votes must be paramount to the process and the result.”

The complaints lodged by third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party eventually resulted in the decision to annul the first round and to repeat the poll on October 19.

Further complications related to the court’s prescriptive verdict resulted in the eventual delay of the re-vote, with the latest date set for this coming Saturday (November 9).

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