President Dr Mohamed Waheed has appointed Jaufar Easa Adam as an advisor for the President’s Office.
The appointment is a non-salaried role, according to the President’s Office website.
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(0)Author: Minivan News
Presidential elections bring a chance to start afresh: Economist
Sipping beer and staring at the ocean, tourists on Addu atoll at the southern tip of the Maldives usually ponder weighty questions such as whether to strap on a snorkel or sunbathe on the pristine beaches. An alternative exists: a political safari on the equatorial islands that bob up from the Indian Ocean, reports The Economist.
On the island of Gan, once home to a British military base, the police station is a blackened mess of glass and twisted pipes. Drive on beyond coconut trees and moored yachts and you find the burned wreck of a courthouse. Like other smashed official buildings, it is daubed with abusive graffiti.
Rioters struck in February last year, furious at the ousting of the country’s first directly elected president, Mohamed Nasheed. He, not unreasonably, called it a coup, having resigned under threat of violence. His immediate sin was ordering the arrest of a judge close to politically powerful families.
A new democracy, born with a fresh constitution in 2008, seemed about to die. Yet the evidence from the Maldives, where politicians campaign by speedboat, is that it struggles gamely on. Those who forced Mr Nasheed’s resignation have honoured the constitution and announced they are sticking to the timetable for presidential polls on September 7th, when voters will get a second chance. Parliamentary elections follow next year.
Rocking on a garden swing among coral houses on Addu, the slim ex-president is sure he will soon be back in office. “Statistics and the smiles of the people” suggest victory, he says. His Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) says it has identified that over half the 240,000 registered voters will back him.
Mr Nasheed’s overthrow and subsequent harassment appear to have boosted his popularity. Foreign pressure kept him out of jail. As speakers blare out his party tunes, he says: “Somehow the country rose up in yellow,” his party colour. Voters perhaps also credit him for new pensions, social housing and cheaper health care brought in while he was in office.
It helps that his core supporters, the young, predominate among the population of 350,000: the median age is just 26. Politics is fiercely and widely debated on social media, where the MDP is adept. His party, advised by Britain’s Conservatives, looks professional. Recent local elections suggest strength in a heavily urban population: in Male, the crowded capital, and Addu, the emerging second city.
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(1)Dislikes(0)Constitutional amendment to limit number of parliamentarians lacks support
A constitutional amendment that would limit the number of elected parliamentarians to 77 was opposed by a majority of legislators today, reports local media.
Previously, the Elections Commission noted that eight additional members of parliament would need to be elected next year, which would increase the total number of parliamentarians from 77 to 85.
Maldivian law stipulates that one administrative constituency must be designated for every 5,000 citizens, while atolls containing less than 5,000 inhabitants must be represented by two MPs, according to Haveeru.
However, the amendment proposed by Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) MP Ahmed Amir would maintain the same number of constituencies in the Maldives as were established in May 2009.
During today’s parliamentary debate on the amendment, MPs objected that political party members and their leaders had not been consulted before the amendment was submitted.
Conversely, Amir claimed that MPs, lawyers and other experts from various sectors had been consulted. He alleged that increasing the number of MPs will create “various challenges” in light of the Maldives’ current financial and economic state.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs who opposed the amendment noted that amending the constitution during a period of political turmoil would be “unwise”.
“A time of political turmoil is not the time to take apart the constitution,” said MP Moosa Manik. “This should be done through dialogue between political leaders.”
The basic salary for MPs is MVR 62,500 (US$4061) monthly, thus eight additional parliamentarians would cost the state 500,000 MVR (US$32,489) monthly, according to Haveeru.
The parliamentary debate on the amendment is ongoing.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Victorious Maldivian bodyboarding team returns from Australian competition
The Maldives Bodyboarding Association (MBBA) team that took part in the Jeff Wilcox Memorial 2013 competition held in Australia last weekend received a warm welcome back to the Maldives last night (August 28).
Around 25 friends and family, as well as the Minister of State for Human Resources, Youth and Sports – Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon – and local media, greeted the team with flowers, cheers, and well-wishes in the VIP lounge of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
The MBBA sent their top three bodyboarders to the Australian competition – Ali ‘Kuda Ayya’ Khushruwan, Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu, and Ali ‘JD’ Javid – who had taken 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, respectively in the Burunu Shikaaru Bodyboarding Challenge held in Male’ this May. Team official and MBBA Vice President Mohamed Khushruwan Ahmed also traveled with the team.
The Maldivian competitors stood out as “some of the best in the event”, with 17 year-old bodyboarder Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu winning first place in the competition’s Junior Division, Jeff Wilcox Memorial Event Director Aaron Dodds previously told Minivan News.
The returning team lauded the competition’s organisers, the Forster Tuncurry Bodyboard Association (FTBA), for holding a quality competition and offering their support to develop the sport in the Maldives.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Parliament passes prison and parole bill
The ‘Prison and Parole Bill’ has been passed by Parliament for a third time, after being returned twice for reconsideration by President Mohamed Waheed, reports local media.
The bill was unanimously passed today (August 29) with the 28 points Waheed previously requested be reconsidered having been reviewed and amended, MP Moosa Manik told local media.
The bill currently has “no major issues,” he added.
The bill aims to strengthen the prison system, which will enable government authorities ensure inmates’ rights and privileges are protected, said Manik. Vocational training and creating a safe and secure environment for inmates will also be provided.
In addition, the ‘Prison and Parole Bill’ will establish a separate institution, referred to as the Maldives Correctional Service, to create prison regulations and run the facilities.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Thinadhoo Regional Hospital renamed to honour late foreign minister
The name of Thinadhoo Regional Hospital has been changed to Dr Samad Memorial Hospital, President Mohamed Waheed announced yesterday (August 28), reports local media.
Waheed was advised by his cabinet members to change the hospital’s name to “create a long lasting tribute” to the late Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla.
A special remembrance meeting will be held in tribute to Samad’s “distinguished services” – a scholarship has already been announced in his memory.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Police hold election operation briefing
An ‘Operation Blue Waves’ briefing was held for commissioned police officers who will lead internal security in the greater Male’ area today, reports the Maldives Police Service (MPS).
The head of Central Operations Command and the head of Operation Blue Waves conducted the briefing, held last night (August 27).
Information on the operational plan for the Male’ area and the different operational phases were discussed, while police officers were assigned to specific areas and given various operational tasks.
Other briefing attendees included the Divisional Operation Command Head and Deputy Head, Assistant Police Commissioner Farhadh Fikry, as well as the Commander of Operation Blue Waves for Male’ area, Chief Inspector of Police Abdulla Shareef.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Police ask PG to charge Sri Lankan woman and Maldivian man for fornication
Police have concluded the investigation into a case where a Maldivian man and a Sri Lankan woman are alleged to have had sex in Hulhumale’, and have sent the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.
In a statement issued the police identified the two as Mohamed Didi, 41, of Male and Dhamika Siriyala, 41, from Sri Lanka.
Police said on May 13, 2013, they were caught inside a room in Hulhumale’ rented on a daily basis.
The investigation into the case was concluded on August 25 and sent to PG the same day.
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(0)Dislikes(0)Maldives economy “seriously damaged and destroyed”: former President Gayoom
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has expressed concern that the Maldivian economy has been “seriously damaged and destroyed”.
Speaking during a campaign rally on the island of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Leader Gayoom was quoted by Sun Online expressing concern at the “serious economic problems” presently facing the country.
Gayoom argued that PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen was the most capable person to save the country’s economy based on his previous government experience.
The PPM, which has the second highest number of MPs behind the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), is part of the current coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed that came to power after the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012.
The former President’s concerns were raised as the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) this month criticised current levels of government expenditure as being “beyond appropriate”.
However, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad responded at the time that efforts had been successful over the last twelve months to curb recurrent government expenditure, while state borrowing had remained consistent.
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