Politics – Page 361 – Minivan News

MDP gathering calls for judicial reform ahead of Nasheed trial

Maldivian Democratic Party on Tuesday night held a march around the capital island Male’ calling for judicial reform ahead of the next hearing of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s trial, scheduled for November 4.

Over 500 protesters marched around Male’ with banners and placards displaying messages on the importance of judicial independence and holding the judiciary accountable.

A number of leading MDP figures joined the march, including former Minister of Environment and Housing Mohamed Aslam, MP Ilyas Labeeb, former Ministers of Education Shifa Mohamed and Musthafa Lutfi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem and former Minister of Home Affairs Hassan Afeef.

Some of the messages on the banners observed by Minivan News said: “Do not destroy justice for the sake of political gain” and “No one will benefit through spoiling the judiciary.”

The protest march began in front of the MDP office on Sosun Magu and protesters walked on the streets of Male’ despite the rainy weather. The march stopped at some street junctions where party leaders gave speeches to the gathered crowds. Speakers included Musthafa Lutfi and Shifa Mohamed.

MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor said that a main focus of the protest was asserting that the judiciary too must be held accountable.

The three judges presiding over the Nasheed case have continued to refuse to attend parliament committee meeting despite repeated summons.

Trial against Nasheed

On October 9, the police presented Nasheed to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court for the first hearing on the case concerning his arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

He was arrested on the island of FaresMathoda on the previous day and held in the Dhoonidhoo Detention Facility until the hearing, prompting protests by hundreds of his supporters.

After the first hearing, Nasheed was released from custody, though they maintained the previously imposed travel ban, requiring him to get a special permission from the courts prior to any travelling.

Nasheed alleged that the Prosecutor General’s sole purpose was to bar him from contesting in the upcoming presidential elections, stating, “If, as the President of the Maldives I arrested the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, then it is not as small a crime as is stated in Article 81 (of the Penal Code). The Prosecutor General’s only objective is to ensure that I cannot contest in the next presidential elections. To do so, he has identified an article which would provide just the required period of detention to cancel my candidacy.”

Nasheed’s legal team has previously raised concerns about the trial, stating that case proceedings were against laws and norms. They raised questions about the legality of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court and procedural issues with the three judge panel presiding over the case.

While the next hearing has been scheduled for November 4, two among Nasheed’s lawyers have been barred from court.

Meanwhile, following an application for a temporary injunction by Nasheed’s legal team, the High Court has declared that it will hold the next hearing of the injunction case on the same day coinciding with Nasheed’s next hearing at the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

Likes

(1)Dislikes

(0)

Cabinet advises formation of ‘National Institute of Education’

Cabinet ministers advised the President yesterday to create a ‘National Institute of Education’ following deliberations on a proposal by the Ministry of Education.

According to the President’s Office, during discussions on a paper submitted by the Education Ministry to the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers noted “the importance of shifting governmental focus to strengthening state efforts, provided the recent expansion of the education sector.”

Ministers also stressed the need for human resource development and providing more opportunities for higher education.

“Some members drew on the stark parallels between the chief functions of Educational Development Centre (EDC) and Centre for Continuing Education (CCE), being run under the supervision of Ministry of Education. Hence, it was strongly favored that the integration of these two separate institutions to form ‘National Institute for Education’, would ultimately lead to greater progress being achieved in the education sector,” reads a press briefing by the President’s Office.

According to the President’s office, the recommendation followed intense discussion over a paper submitted by the Education Minister.

Ministers in the cabinet meeting stated that it was important that more focus be drawn towards the education sector over its expansion over the last few years. Cabinet members also highlighted that more training and higher education was required for human resource development within the education sector.

The President’s Office claimed that the merging of two institutions would mean the facilities used by both institutions and be now utilised more effectively, and would enhance the quality of training offered to teachers and the national curriculum development process.

Commenting on cabinet’s advice, former Education Minister Musthafa Luthfee raised doubts over cabinet minister’s statement that some of the works carried out by the EDC and CCED were similar.

“How can one say that it is doing similar work? One institution is responsible for development of the national curriculum, doing necessary research and providing resources for teachers, while the other is responsible for providing non-formal education and providing educational opportunities to those adults who have not had the opportunity to study. How can they be considered similar?” Luthfee questioned.

He further stated that forming a bigger institution was not a problem, but said that his fear was that the formation of a larger institute would disrupt the focus and attention needed for curriculum development.

“The biggest challenge to the Maldivian education system is that our curriculum is not as up to date as it should be. It has a lot of problems. A national curriculum is very important for the development of the country,” he said.

Luthfee stated that he was of the view that there should be a separate institution for curriculum development because it required a lot of attention and focus. He also raised doubts over whether the government had the capacity to run such an institution without losing focus on key areas.

“There may be the ease of resource sharing when the two institutions are merged, but if proper focus is not given to certain area, it could have a very negative impact on the country.”

CCED in its website describes itself as a pivotal professional institute under the Ministry of Education, which essentially carries the responsibility for improving the quality of teaching and learning in the Maldives. It promotes community education, enhances life-long learning and conducts adult literacy programs across the nation.

The role of CCED has expanded to include many professional development activities within the education sector.

Strategic changes were embraced within CCED due to the change in government educational policy in 2009. As a result, professional development programs were embedded in its mandate, which restructured the institution to facilitate the new demands of the education sector. The restructure of the centre led to the formation of units, sections and divisions with specific responsibilities for each.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Government “not aware” of request to temporarily halt hiring of senior civil servants

The government has said it is “not aware” of a Civil Service Commission (CSC) request to cease recruiting for any position higher than the role of assistant director until 2013, despite reports in local media to the contrary.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said he had not been made aware of any requests to amend government recruitment practice and would need to clarify the matter, and referred Minivan News to the CSC.

Minivan News was awaiting confirmation at time of press both from Masood and CSC President Mohamed Fahmy Hassan over whether an official request had been made to curb government offices hiring senior civil servants.

However, local media, citing an an named government source, speculated that the reported CSC request was linked to “financial difficulties” currently facing the state.

The government official told the Sun Online news service that despite the need for new employees within the Finance Ministry, the recruitment process for such roles had been halted in line with the CSC’s request.

Earlier this week, Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad claimed the government was currently unprepared to meet its recurrent expenditure – including salaries – for the final three months of 2012 without a US$25 million loan promised by the Indian government.

While unable to confirm if the reported CSC request was linked to Finance Ministry fears over insufficient funding for state wages, key economic figures within the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan have maintained that more drastic budget cuts are required to balance expenditure.

Despite government commitments to cut departmental budgets by 15 percent in 2012, Jihad told Minivan News last month that even with financial assistance promised from China and India, further cuts would need to be made to state salaries over the next year to deal with deficit concerns.

Jihad and Economic Development Minister Mohamed Ahmed were not responding to calls at the time of press.

CSC President Fahmy said in September 2012 that as no request had so far been made by the government to reduce the size and budget of civil society organisations, it did not have concerns about potential job cuts.

“Our mandate is to provide human resources to the government. As long as there is no effect on the salaries or number of civil servants, we will not seek to intervene in the policy of government,” he said.

With state income lower and expenditure higher than predicted, this year’s budget deficit had been forecast to reach MVR6billion (US$389 million), equivalent to around 28 percent of real GDP.

Despite this deficit, President Waheed has been campaigning this week in Faafu and Dhaalu Atolls, reportedly to reassure the public that the economy was running smoothly, whilst criticising those who he claimed sought to weaken it.

Waheed is also reported as having said that he would not resort to borrowing from foreign governments in order to finance government activities.

“I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn”, he was reported to have told the people of Nilandhoo.

“The Maldivian economy is fine. Don’t listen to whatever people say. We don’t have to [worry] about the Maldivian economy being in a slump,” he was quoted as saying during a rally in Meedhoo.

US$25 million in funding from India was agreed upon last month as part of the $US100 million standby credit facility signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2011.

Unpaid bills

However, despite president Waheed’s reassurances, a number of state owned institutions have this month faced disconnection from the capital’s power grid as bills amounting to around MVR 150million (US$9.7million) were said to be owed to the State Electricity Company (STELCO).

Responding to blaming of his ministry, Jihad told Sun that the finances were simply not there, pointing to the adoption of spending policies of the previous administration.

“We are not receiving foreign aid as was included in the budget. How can we spend more than we receive? That’s why those bills are unpaid. We can’t spend money we don’t have,” he told the paper.

Former Minister of Economic Development Mahmood Razee has previously told Minivan News that this increased expenditure in the face of a pre-existing deficit represented the government “ignoring reality.”

“If they don’t get the loan, they will have to cut travel expenses, stop certain programs – take drastic measures or get another loan,” said Razee, claiming that the only alternative would be to sell treasury bills.

Following reports in August that the government was attempting to raise funds through the sale of treasury bills, former Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz said that this would not address the concerns of the IMF, prolonging economic uncertainty.

China has also made large commitments towards the Maldives’ economic development in recent months, although Razee said he believed that current changes within the Chinese government in the upcoming month made this an inopportune time to look there for additional financial aid.

In August, the current Finance Ministry announced its own austerity measures intended to wipe over MVR2.2billion (US$143 million) from this year’s budget deficit though few of these propositions have as yet been followed through.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

MPs claim bill on the right to remain silent contradicts constitution

Parliament has divided opinions on the Bill on the Right to remain silent submitted by independent member of parliament, Mohamed Nasheed.

The bill had its second reading in parliament on Tuesday, following the first reading on October 3. During the ensuing one hour debate, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs mainly spoke against the bill, while most MPs aligned with the ruling coalition supported the bill and advocated for it to be expedited.

“The right to remain silent is a fundamental basis on which the criminal justice system in many other countries are built upon. They do not have to explicitly define this in their laws as it is already well established in their respective societies,” Nasheed explained in parliament today.

“Our case is different. We first heard the phrase ‘the right to remain silent’ with the ratification of the 2008 constitution,” Nasheed said, adding that unlike other countries, Maldivians did not have any local material to refer to for better understanding of the right.

He said that the bill therefore aimed to define clearly what comes and what does not come within the boundaries of the right to remain silent, where this right can be applied and the legal outcomes that may ensue.

No threat to MPs

A number of MPs, some from the ruling coalition parties and some independent, spoke in favour of the bill. They insisted that narrowing the right to remain silent would assist in police investigations, thereby contributing to bringing down crime rates.

Some MPs stated that this bill only caused inconvenience to criminals, explicitly stating that it posed no risk to MPs and politicians.

Independent MP Ahmed Amir said that the MPs themselves needed to prove to the nation that all of them were people who refrained from getting involved in criminal activities, asking “Why then must we be concerned about this bill? I do not believe any member here needs to be concerned about this bill.”

Amir said the parliament had narrowed the same right in the Act on Sexual harassment against children, adding “why then are we so reluctant to pass an act to narrow down this right as a whole? That this may cause a loss to us, or the nation, is in my view an irresponsible stance to take.”

Meanwhile, DRP MP Mausoom stated the importance of expediting the bill, pledging complete support to the draft bill.

“At a time when we started moving towards democracy, one reason which led to a number of citizens expressing discontent with a democratic system is that the rights of criminals began exceeding those of regular citizens,” Mausoom said, stating that it was of extreme importance that the bill on the floor be sent to the relevant committee and passed at the earliest.

PPM MP Ahmed ‘RedWave’ Saleem also supported the bill, and put forward his opinion in parliament.

“On judgement day you cannot exercise the right to remain silent. If you do, your organs will speak for you. However, organs cannot speak today, and so we must speak with our own tongues. If police ask you if you have committed a crime, you can simply say no even if you have committed it, so what is there to be afraid of?” Saleem said.

Addressing the MDP MPs Saleem said, “I want to tell my MDP brothers that this poses no threat to them, only to criminals. There is no threat to any politicians either.”

Contradictions with the Constitution

MPs who spoke against the bill pointed out that the bill directly contradicted articles in the constitution.

Article 20 of the proposed bill states that should a person choose to remain silent, after which sufficient evidence is provided in courts to prove without doubt that he is guilty as accused, then his decision to remain silent can be viewed as further proof against him. It further says that this is because instead of trying to prove his innocence, the accused had chosen to remain silent.

MDP MPs Ali Riza and Ali Waheed stated that this article was in direct contradiction to Articles 51(a), 51(c), 51(d), 51(e), 51(h) and 52 of the constitution.

Ali Waheed further stated, “I do not believe that any Act has the power to completely turn around a right guaranteed in Chapter 2 of the Constitution.”

From the government coalition parties, Jumhoree Party MP Abdulla Jabir also spoke against the proposed bill.

“We have heard in the past that two or three people would be arrested, tortured, forced to confess, and then claiming the investigation to be completed, these people would be sentenced undeservingly. Are we to move back into that again?” he said.

Jabir stated that he would not support the bill as he felt it would bring back the culture of torture, forced confessions and convictions of the innocent.

Likes

(1)Dislikes

(0)

President Waheed pledges infrastructure projects for islands of Dhaalu Atoll

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has pledged a number of infrastructure projects next year for several islands during a recent tour of Dhaalu atoll.

The former vice president was accompanied during the trip by Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muizz and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb as well as Independent MP for Dhaal Meedhoo Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam and Independent MP for Dhaal Kudahuvadhoo Ahmed Amir.

Addressing the people of Meedhoo on Saturday, Waheed pledged a land reclamation project next year to ease congestion, in addition to promising to include funds in the 2013 budget for a football stadium in the island.

Speaking at the rally in Meedhoo, MP Shiyam offered assurances to his constituents that the land reclamation project would commence next year.

Waheed’s tour of Dhaal atoll was reported extensively by the resort magnate’s radio station and affiliated website Sun Online. While the pledges were reported by the online news outlet owned by the resort owner MP, the press briefings on the President’s Office website made no mention of the promised infrastructure projects.

In his visit to the island of Badidhoo in Dhaal atoll, Waheed pledged to include funds in next year’s budget to construct a harbour in the island.

Assuring the people of Badidhoo that the project would commence next year, Waheed also promised that the government would restart a stalled project to construct additional classrooms in the island’s school “in the near future.”

Speaking to the people of Maa’ebudhoo on Sunday, Waheed meanwhile pledged to include funds in next year’s budget for a harbour project for the island.

Waheed also pledged a project to establish a sewerage system in the island but did not specify a date for commencement.

In his visit to Kudahuvadhoo on the same day – which was marked by an anti-government demonstration and the arrest of six protesters – Waheed pledged a land reclamation project for the island “early next year” ahead of the construction of an airport.

Waheed noted that a project for construction of a seawall was ongoing in Kudahuvadhoo and said that the government planned to issue soft loans for construction of houses, arguing that such a policy would be better than the construction of flats or housing units by the government.

“Several youth have obtained land tenures. But they are not able to build houses for long periods of time. The solution to this is not sudden construction of a bunch of flats. That’s not the solution. The real solution is to find ways for people to live, and to help them build houses,” he was quoted as saying.

In his last stop on the tour of Dhaalu atoll, Waheed told the people of Hulhudheli yesterday (Monday, October 29) that he would try to put together a project to establish a sewerage system in the island next year.

He added that the government’s utility company, Fenaka Corporation, would be instructed to upgrade the engine in the island’s powerhouse.

President Waheed and First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain arrived in Male’ in the late afternoon yesterday after concluding his trip.

Upon his return, the President tweeted with a picture of a procession welcoming him to an island: “Just returned from a visit to Dhaal Atoll and Faaf Nilandhoo having spent Eid Al Adh’aa with the people.”

While the President pledged infrastructure projects and told the people of Meedhoo that the economy was “doing fine” and that there was no cause to “worry about the economy being in a slump,” Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told Sun Online that the government was unprepared to meet its recurrent expenditure – including salaries – for the final three months of 2012 without a US$25 million loan promised by the Indian government.

Moreover, addressing the people of Nilandhoo in Faafu atoll – the first stop of the tour – Waheed reportedly said that borrowing large sums of money from foreign parties in order to run the government would not be the policy of his government.

According to Sun Online, “the President said that that his policy is to meet the expenditure of the government with government income. He also said that his priorities are decided on the basis of what is necessary for the country.”

“We are trying to secure sources of income for the nation. I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn,” Waheed was quoted as saying.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

PPM wins by-elections in Faafu, Meemu and Laamu atolls

Candidates from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have won all three by-elections held on Monday for vacant atoll and island council seats in Meemu Atoll Mulaku constituency, Faafu Atoll Bilehdhoo and Laamu Atoll Maabaidhoo.

According to provisional results from the Elections Commission (EC), PPM candidate Ali Ibrahim won the contest for the vacant Meemu Mulaku constituency atoll council seat with 677 votes (50.45 percent) against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Ibrahim Latheef with 478 votes (35.6 percent).

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) candidate Adam Hassan was placed third with 187 votes (13.93 percent).

In the February 2011 local council elections – which took place before the PPM was formed by the breakaway ‘Zaeem’ faction of the DRP – the then-opposition candidates Yousuf Sidqee and Zahira Mohamed from the DRP along with Ahmed Sulaiman from the People’s Alliance (PA) won the three atoll council seats for the Mulaku constituency with 949 votes, 736 votes and 855 votes respectively.

The fifth placed MDP candidate Mohamed Adil received 711 votes.

In May 2009, then-PA Leader Abdulla Yameen secured the Mulaku constituency parliamentary seat with 856 votes (45 percent).

Meanwhile, in Laamu Maabaidhoo, PPM candidate Hassan Adil won the vacant island council seat yesterday with 198 votes (43.52 percent) against Abdul Rasheed from the MDP who got 168 votes (36.92 percent) and Independent candidate Ahmed Shujau in third place with 89 votes (19.57 percent).

In February 2011, the five seats of the Maabaidhoo island council were won by two independent candidates and three DRP candidates.

While independent candidate Mariyam Didi came first with 283 votes, MDP candidate Ali Rasheed in 15^th place received 81 votes.

The constituency including Maabadhoo was won by the PA in the parliamentary election. The then-minority opposition contested the parliamentary elections in a formal coalition with the DRP.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Shareef Idrees – who is a member of PPM – won yesterday’s by-election for a vacant seat in the Faafu Bilehdhoo island council with 342 votes (53.44 percent) against MDP candidate Ramzeena Afeef who got 298 votes (46.56 percent).

Four independent candidates and one MDP candidate were elected to the Bilehdhoo island council in February 2011.

In February 2011, the highest placed independent candidate Ali Saleem was elected with 390 votes while fifth placed MDP candidate Imran Rasheed received 309 votes.

In a by-election in November 2011 for a vacant atoll council seat for the Bilehdhoo constituency, MDP candidate Ibrahim Naeem came on top with 674 votes (53 percent) against Jumhoree Party contender Mohamed Musthafa, placed second with 539 votes (42 percent).

The former ruling party had won all three atoll council seats from the Bilehdhoo constituency in February 2011.

Moreover, MDP MP Ahmed Hamza represents the Bilehdhoo constituency in parliament.

Following yesterday’s results, PPM Spokesperson and MP Ahmed Mahloof noted that the party has won nine out of 12 by-elections held since its inception in October 2011.

Meanwhile, a by-election scheduled for Monday to elect a candidate for a vacant seat in the Alif Dhaal Dhidhoo island council was decided without a vote after only the Jumhoree Party (JP) fielded a candidate. The EC announced on October 1 that JP candidate Ahmed Niyaz had won the seat by default.

Turnout

The turn-out in all three by-elections on Monday was relatively low compared to previous elections, with 55 percent in Mulaku, 82 percent in Bilehdhoo and 79 percent in Maabadhoo.

Of 2,441 eligible voters in the Mulaku constituency, 1,360 cast their ballots (18 were declared invalid).

In the island of Maabaidhoo in Laamu Atoll, 462 voters out of 661 eligible voters participated in the by-election. Seven votes were declared invalid.

In Bilehdhoo, out of 784 eligible voters, 650 citizens cast their ballots with ten declared invalid.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Government cannot pay state salaries without Indian cash: Finance Minister

Minister of Finance Abdulla Jihad has said the government is unprepared to meet its recurrent expenditure – including salaries – for the final three months of 2012 without the US$25million loan promised by the Indian government.

Jihad, who was not responding to calls at the time of press, told local media outlet Sun Online that he believed the loan is being delayed due to the ongoing controversy over Indian infrastructure company GMR’s development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The Ministry’s Financial Controller Mohamed ‘Kuday’ Ahmed was also not responding to calls at time of press.

India’s High Commissioner to the Maldives DM Mulay told Minivan News that “India stands by every commitment and hopes Maldives will reciprocate. We have excellent rapport with the GOM [Government of Maldives] and issues, if any, are sorted out amicably.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs publicly expressed concern over the political stability and the investment climate in the Maldives earlier this month.

Sun meanwhile reported Jihad as saying he had made repeated requests via the High Commission for the loan to be expedited.

Jihad’s comments come during a week in which President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has been campaigning in Faafu and Dhaalu Atolls, reportedly reassuring the people that the economy was running smoothly whilst crticising those who he claimed sought to weaken it.

A concerted campaign by government-aligned parties to annul the US$511million concession agreement with GMR – the single largest foreign investment in the country’s history – has sparked concerns over investor confidence with damaging implications for the long term development of the economy.

Waheed is also reported as saying that he would not resort to borrowing from foreign governments in order to finance government activities.

“I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn”, he was reported to have told the people of Nilandhoo.

“The Maldivian economy is fine. Don’t listen to whatever people say. We don’t have to [worry] about the Maldivian economy being in a slump,” he was quoted as saying during a rally in Meedhoo.

Minivan News was unable to obtain comment from President’s Office spokesmen on this issue before going to press.

The US$25 million was agreed upon last month as part of the $US100 million standby credit facility signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2011.

Unpaid bills

Despite Waheed’s reassurances, this month has seen a number of state owned institutions face disconnection from the capital’s power grid as bills amounting to around MVR150million (US$9.7million) were said to be owed to the State Electricity Company (STELCO).

Responding to the institutions’ blaming of his ministry, Jihad told Sun that the finances were simply not there.

He mentioned that the government would have difficulties paying the salaries of civil servants in the final quarter of this year.

Since coming to power in February, the government has committed to reimbursing civil servants for wage reductions made during the austerity measures of the previous government, amounting to Rf443.7 million (US$28.8 million), to be disbursed in monthly installments over twelve months from July.

A MVR 100million (US$6.4 million) fuel subsidy for the fishing industry was also approved by the Majlis Finance Committee earlier this month, with the hope of stimulating the ailing sector.

The overall deficit for government expenditure has already reached over MVR2billion (US$129million). Jihad has told the Majlis’ Finance Committee that he expected this figure to rise to MVR6billion (US$387million) by year’s end – 28percent of GDP – alleging that the previous government left unpaid bills equal to over one third of this anticipated deficit.

Former Minister of Economic Development Mahmood Razee told Minivan News that this increased expenditure in the face of a pre-existing deficit represented the government “ignoring reality.”

China has made large commitments towards the Maldives’ economic development in recent months, although Razee said he believed that current changes within the Chinese government in the upcoming month made this an inopportune time to look there for additional financial aid.

In August, the current Finance Ministry announced its own austerity measures intended to wipe over MVR2.2billion (US$143million) from this year’s budget deficit though few of these propositions have as yet been followed through.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

“We should all party sometime”: young people allege inducements offered to join President’s party

President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) has denied claims the party has been trying to induce people to join through illegitimate means, in a bid to shore up the party’s membership base ahead of a bill that could see smaller parties dissolved.

According to the latest statistics from the Elections Commission (EC), GIP’s current membership base stands at 2,538 members. The draft bill on Political Parties currently in parliament stipulates that parties with membership less than 5000 members after six months of the bill’s passage shall be dissolved by the EC.

A number of young people have come forward and alleged to Minivan News that they were offered government positions, promotions, jobs with salaries of more than MVR 10,000 (US$650) a month, music equipment and even hosted parties to join GIP.

GIP Secretary General Ahmed Mushrif has dismissed the allegations as an “outright lie”, and said that the party from its formation had never attempted to add members illegally.

Allegations of offers

A young Maldivian working in the tourism sector told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that a parliament member and prominent figure in the industry had called him and asked him to sign with GIP “as a favor”.

“He told me that in return for me joining the party, I would be rewarded with a position in the current government that I could never have even imagined. He further tried to convince me that all I needed to do was join the party – I could vote for anybody I wanted,” he said.

Another person who has worked in the civil service for the last 15 years told Minivan News that he was contacted by GIP with a promise that he would “easily be promoted” to a supervisor level job if he joined the party.

“A GIP member called me and told me that I could easily get promoted to supervisor level if I left my current party and joined GIP. Even though I am not an active MDP member I said I would think about it, but later did not respond to his calls,” the civil servant said.

According to the law, it is unlawful for any authority to influence civil servants for political reasons by threatening or offering them employment opportunities.

“We should all party sometime” – Deputy President of GIP

A third person – aged 20 – claimed that he and his group of friends aged around 18 to 22 were approached by GIP through a friend and were invited to the party’s office where they were received by the party’s Deputy Leader and the Maldives High Commissioner to Malaysia, Mohamed ‘Nazaki’ Zaki.

“When we arrived we were received by ‘Nazaki’ Zaki and treated with pizza. He said that in return for joining GIP, he would offer each of us a job with a salary not less than MVR 10,000, but asked us not to question where the jobs would be allocated from,” the youngster claimed.

Apart from the job, the source alleged that Zaki had offered him and his friends “music equipment and a place to play for free” to those among them who wished to play music. He added that the group were also promised various entertainment activities such as “hosting shows and parties”.

“They asked us to join the party and work in the party’s youth wing,” the source said.

When they asked what they were supposed to do as members of the party’s youth wing, the source said Zaki had told them that their main task would be to increase the party’s membership as it was “currently very low”.

At the end of the meeting, the high commissioner reportedly suggested the holding of a party event that would be fully funded by GIP.

“They said we should all party sometime. Maybe they said that because we had long hair and looked stylish,” the source suggested.

Zaki was one of the founding members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). However he resigned from the party in April claiming that the MDP was now focused around former President Mohamed Nasheed and had become a personality-based party.

He later joined GIP and was appointed as its deputy leader.

The opposition MDP had accused Zaki of being involved in corruption in the controversial installation of border control system by Malaysian IT firm Nexbis.

However, Zaki denied the claims, stating that he had only helped facilitate the deal from taking place in his capacity as the High Commissioner to Malaysia.

Minivan News was unable to contact Zaki as he was out of the country at time of press, while President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad was not responding to calls.

GIP member Illyas Hussein Ibrahim, the former Immigration Controller and brother-in-law of President Waheed, referred Minivan News to Secretary General Ahmed Mushrif.

Similar remarks

In a leaked audio clip released in August, former CEO of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) and senior member of GIP Ahmed Faiz was recorded discussing the hiring of individuals to loudly promote President Waheed in local cafes.

Faiz in the audio claimed that he was a “close confidante” of President Waheed, and that he had been given many assignments to help his presidency.

“Not necessarily going out into the streets with huge knives and attacking people, okay? What I want is, for example, when the key people who are involved in this are in a certain place… for example, four or five of these people might be in a coffee-shop.

“You go in there, do you understand? You go and barge in right into the middle, and say, no need to be discreet at all, just say it out loud openly, ‘Hey you (expletive) dogs, this country is being destroyed because of you (expletive). Don’t even think you can do what you please with this country,” he explained in the audio clip.

Similar to Zaki, Faiz also spoke about offering jobs and other benefits at the expense of the state to his audience.

“What I’m saying is, this government is now appointing people to different posts and it’s getting structured in the manner we want. Now there is a lot of things that I can do. Material benefits can be gained, and lots of other things. Credit from STO (State Trading Organisation) worth millions of rufiya, that’s absolutely welcome. Do you get it?

“Then maybe funds are needed for some activity, for example, ‘Please arrange this amount of cash needed for something’. I will get that done. Or perhaps, ‘From this project, give us this amount of money’. Now when it’s put like that, it seems somewhat twisted to me. I tend to see that like cutting a ‘deal’,” Faiz stated.

Following the release of the audio clip, Faiz was sacked from his position in MPL.

Destroying democracy

President of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Hassan Luthfee said he condemned the unlawful acts carried out by political parties to increase membership figures.

“This is a very serious issue. Actions like these will only destroy the democracy in this country. The purpose of democracy is to exercise the free will of the people in making their political decisions. It is not democracy when a party induces an individual to join a specific political party by unlawful means by offering jobs and money. That is not in within the spirit of democracy,” Luthfee told Minivan News.

He reiterated that politicians should realise that the success of a democracy depends on sincerity. He also highlighted the challenges faced by the ACC in looking into such allegations.

“The biggest difficulty is that as per the laws of the country, finding substantial evidence is very difficult. Even when we summon a suspected person, would they be honest in giving evidence to the commission?” Luthfee asked.

He further stressed that it was important to have more efficient and stricter laws to address such issues, but said that the ACC is working with the Elections Commission to reduce fraudulent action being carried out by political parties in acquiring members.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Police arrest six protesters from Kudahuvadhoo during President’s visit

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the arrest of six protesters from Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaal Atoll during President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s visit to the island on Sunday.

In a press release last night, the former ruling party condemned “in the harshest terms” the arrest of “participants of a peaceful protest” against Dr Waheed’s government and called for their “immediate release”.

Police made the arrests “brutally and with no prior warning,” the MDP statement alleged.

The party also expressed concern over the alleged use of pepper spray and “disproportionate force” to take the protesters into custody as well as the use of obscene language towards demonstrators.

The MDP statement concluded by calling on the Human Rights Commission, Police Integrity Commission and the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate and take legal action concerning the “illegal arrest of peaceful protesters and efforts by the police to restrict freedom of expression.”

Speaking to Minivan News, a police media official confirmed that six people were arrested from the island on Sunday but noted that only one person was arrested during Dr Waheed’s visit.

Three men were arrested around 11:00am for “obstructing police duty” during security preparations for the President’s visit.

One of the men allegedly assaulted a police officer while the other two were arrested for “obstructing police duty,” the media official explained.

A police officer sustained minor injuries during the confrontation, the official said, but the injuries were “not too serious.”

A woman was arrested at the time when President Waheed alighted on the island but has since been released.

Two men arrested during a protest outside the Kudahuvadhoo police station after President Waheed left the island have also been released, the media official said.

Of the six arrested during the day, only the three men arrested before noon were still in custody, the official said.

On the allegations concerning excessive use of force, the police media official insisted that no force was used when President Waheed alighted on the island.

However, he added that police used force earlier in the day to control a disturbance that followed the arrest of the individual who allegedly assaulted a police officer.

Banners taken down

Meanwhile, Shathir Abdul Rahman, head of the MDP Kudahuvadhoo branch, told private broadcaster Raajje TV yesterday that a large number of police from other stations in the atoll arrived ahead of the President and took down anti-government banners.

The police media official confirmed that police took down banners put up at the harbour area.

The banners were put up at a cordoned off area “closed for security reasons” and were taken down as they were put up by islanders who “broke through the police lines”, the media official said.

Meanwhile, a protest also took place at Dhaal Meedhoo on Saturday to coincide with the former vice president’s visit.

President Waheed left Male’ on Friday for Faafu Nilandhoo and some islands of Dhaalu atoll.

Private broadcaster Villa Television – owned by Jumhoree Party (JP) leader and business magnate MP Gasim Ibrahim – reported Dr Waheed as saying in his speech at Kudahuvadhoo yesterday that his government would be “harsh” towards those who attack senior government officials and create unrest.

A bottle was reportedly thrown at Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz at Dhaal Meedhoo during the President’s visit.

Referring to the incident during his speech at Kudahuvadhoo yesterday, Dr Waheed reportedly characterised it as “an act of terrorism” and promised “harsh action” against those responsible.

Meanwhile, according to MDP officials on social media, two men were arrested today from Dhaal Hulhudheli during a protest greeting President Waheed’s arrival on the island. Both men have however been released after the President’s departure.

Since the controversial transfer of presidential power on February 7, visits by President Waheed to islands have been marked by protests calling him a “traitor” and demonstrators clashing with police.

Following reports released by Amnesty International alleging police brutality since February’s transfer of power, police in June this year denied “use of excessive force” against demonstrators.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)