Month: November 2005

MDP Congress to be Monitored by Foreign Independent Election Observers to Ensure it is Free and Fair

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party is gearing up for its first ever party Congress, to be held on the 15th December 2005. The Congress will elect the leadership of the MDP and a host of other positions.
Only the presidents of each local MDP branch (gofi) will be able to vote in Congress, however. A number of local party members have objected to this. We asked MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor to explain how Congress will operate and put to him some of the objections raised by party members.
MN: Could you explain why the MDP will only allow branch Presidents to vote in the party Congress?
HG: This is what is in the party constitution – a system whereby we create an electoral college. A lot of people in the party feel that this is not a very appropriate system for the Maldives but this is the model in the constitution. The initial idea of a cell, or branch, was to involve 20 people but our MPs and people who are studying this, they decided that it was going to be 100. So I think when the party expanded and a lot of people came into this process a lot of people are now saying that this is not the best option for us, considering the state of political awareness that we have at the grass roots level.
MN: Would you consider changing the election procedures for Congress or are you going to go ahead with the current system?
HG: This is on the cards. We are not rejecting the idea [of changing the voting procedures]. But at the moment the party is being run by a Caretaker Committee and the Caretaker Committee is not in a position to change the basic constitutional model of the party that has already been registered. We debated this at length and there are two problems.
Firstly, this is the model that is on paper and that has been registered [with the Elections Commission]. If you want to make an amendment to this, Congress is the body where that can be made. The second problem is the logistical problem. For example, if we propose an amendment to the Congress and the amendment gets passed where, instead of an electoral college, the position of party president is going to be elected directly by the members, the logistical nightmare of getting this done is quite considerable. How could we turn around and say during Congress: “hey, we’re not going to elect like this, but like this other way,” when the election is due to be held that afternoon?
We need to get the party running – the party President, Chairperson, administration elected before we can proceed with our political agenda. So what we decided was, because of the logistical nightmare and because the Caretaker Committee doesn’t have the legitimacy to change something just like that, we will go as per the model that is in the party constitution, we will get our elections done and then we will propose amendments to the Congress. If the amendments are passed, we can change the voting rules for the next Congress.
MN: Another question that is often posed is whether the voting will be transparent; so will branch members know which way their president has voted during Congress?
HG: We are promoting the idea of internal democracy. We are asking branch presidents to ask their members who they should vote for. But, of course, the vote is a secret ballot at the Congress so you can never tell which way the branch president voted.
If you look at the branch rules, there is room for ten members in the branch out of one hundred members to move a motion of no confidence against the branch president. If the branch can get together and get a two thirds majority they can remove the president. But of course, there is no way of checking if the president voted the way the branch wanted them to during this Congress. This is an obvious weakness in the system from the point of view of people who are asking for direct elections instead of an electoral college.
MN: What type of voting method will be used at Congress?
HG: The rules of procedure in the party constitution does not specify the electoral process so we created a committee to look into this, study electoral processes and decide what is the best for us. At the moment, what the committee has decided is that we will go for a preferential voting system.
A preferential vote means that each branch president will register their choices [for president, vice-president etc.] first choice, second choice, third choice and so on. Through a process of elimination of the least popular candidates, we will get a candidate with an absolute majority [over 50%] of the votes. This is better than going for a first-past-the-post system, where with eight candidates someone with just 20% of the vote can win.
We are also obtaining the services of an independent election monitor from overseas. Their job will be to monitor the election and advise us. We thought that would be a good idea.
If you would like to pose questions to the MDP about their party Congress, why not write an open letter to Hamid Abdul Gafoor? Email: [email protected]

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party is gearing up for its first ever party Congress, to be held on the 15th December 2005. The Congress will elect the leadership of the MDP and a host of other positions.

Only the presidents of each local MDP branch (gofi) will be able to vote in Congress, however. A number of local party members have objected to this. We asked MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor to explain how Congress will operate and put to him some of the objections raised by party members.

MN: Could you explain why the MDP will only allow branch Presidents to vote in the party Congress?

HG: This is what is in the party constitution – a system whereby we create an electoral college. A lot of people in the party feel that this is not a very appropriate system for the Maldives but this is the model in the constitution. The initial idea of a cell, or branch, was to involve 20 people but our MPs and people who are studying this, they decided that it was going to be 100. So I think when the party expanded and a lot of people came into this process a lot of people are now saying that this is not the best option for us, considering the state of political awareness that we have at the grass roots level.

MN: Would you consider changing the election procedures for Congress or are you going to go ahead with the current system?

HG: This is on the cards. We are not rejecting the idea [of changing the voting procedures]. But at the moment the party is being run by a Caretaker Committee and the Caretaker Committee is not in a position to change the basic constitutional model of the party that has already been registered. We debated this at length and there are two problems.

Firstly, this is the model that is on paper and that has been registered [with the Elections Commission]. If you want to make an amendment to this, Congress is the body where that can be made. The second problem is the logistical problem. For example, if we propose an amendment to the Congress and the amendment gets passed where, instead of an electoral college, the position of party president is going to be elected directly by the members, the logistical nightmare of getting this done is quite considerable. How could we turn around and say during Congress: “hey, we’re not going to elect like this, but like this other way,” when the election is due to be held that afternoon?

We need to get the party running – the party President, Chairperson, administration elected before we can proceed with our political agenda. So what we decided was, because of the logistical nightmare and because the Caretaker Committee doesn’t have the legitimacy to change something just like that, we will go as per the model that is in the party constitution, we will get our elections done and then we will propose amendments to the Congress. If the amendments are passed, we can change the voting rules for the next Congress.

MN: Another question that is often posed is whether the voting will be transparent; so will branch members know which way their president has voted during Congress?

HG: We are promoting the idea of internal democracy. We are asking branch presidents to ask their members who they should vote for. But, of course, the vote is a secret ballot at the Congress so you can never tell which way the branch president voted.

If you look at the branch rules, there is room for ten members in the branch out of one hundred members to move a motion of no confidence against the branch president. If the branch can get together and get a two thirds majority they can remove the president. But of course, there is no way of checking if the president voted the way the branch wanted them to during this Congress. This is an obvious weakness in the system from the point of view of people who are asking for direct elections instead of an electoral college.

MN: What type of voting method will be used at Congress?

HG: The rules of procedure in the party constitution does not specify the electoral process so we created a committee to look into this, study electoral processes and decide what is the best for us. At the moment, what the committee has decided is that we will go for a preferential voting system.

A preferential vote means that each branch president will register their choices [for president, vice-president etc.] first choice, second choice, third choice and so on. Through a process of elimination of the least popular candidates, we will get a candidate with an absolute majority [over 50%] of the votes. This is better than going for a first-past-the-post system, where with eight candidates someone with just 20% of the vote can win.

We are also obtaining the services of an independent election monitor from overseas. Their job will be to monitor the election and advise us. We thought that would be a good idea.

If you would like to pose questions to the MDP about their party Congress, why not write an open letter to Hamid Abdul Gafoor? Email: [email protected]

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15 Minutes with the British Conservative Party

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Mr. Gary Streeter, a British MP and Chairman of the Conservative Party’s new human rights commission. He told Minivan News why Britain’s main opposition party is so concerned about what is going on in the Maldives.
MN: Could you explain a little about who you are and what the Conservative Party’s new Human Rights Commission is all about?
GS: My name is Gary Streeter and I’m a Conservative Member of Parliament in Britain and I’ve been an MP for 13 years and for the last five years taken a specialist interest in international affairs of one kind or another.
Earlier this Autumn, our shadow foreign secretary Dr Liam Fox, because we have a Labour [party] government at the moment so the Conservatives are in opposition, asked me to set up and chair a new thing for the Conservative Party, a human rights commission, which is intended to look around the world and monitor human rights records of any states that we are concerned about with a view to shaping our foreign policy baring in mind how governments around the world treat their own people. We are just getting going and it’s been drawn to my attention that there are problems in the Maldives and that is what we have been trying to raise here as an issue.
MN: What are the concerns that you have about the Maldives at the moment?
GS: Here in Britain we think of the Maldives as paradise on earth and lots of people go there for a spectacular holiday and get married and all sorts of things and I’m sure that won’t change but we are concerned a recent reports that the current government are not allowing room for democracy to breathe in the Maldives and in particular the leader of the main opposition party Mohamed Nasheed [was] recently arrested and standing trial for terrorism charges and other offenses. I wasn’t present at the peaceful vigil in Male’ in August when he was arrested, but it sounds from many of the things that I’ve heard that these charges may not be entirely well-founded.
It’s not for us to say whether he is guilty or innocent. Our main concern is: is he going to get a fair trial? And from the report of some independent UK lawyers who went to Maldives in September [Sir Ivan Lawrence Commission], which I’ve read very carefully, it does seem that that is highly unlikely. We think that that is a breach of international human rights and we are calling upon Maldives government to make sure that Mohamed Nasheed does receive a fair trial and gets justice.
MN: What do you think the Conservative Party can do to help secure Nasheed a fair trial and also push forward the democratic processes in the Maldives?
GS: Well, the Conservative Party at the moment can do two things. One is to raise the issue here and make a noise about it, and that is what we plan to do. And secondly, to put our own government, the British government, under pressure to put the Maldivian government under pressure to improve its performance on human rights.
That is the reality of the world in which we live. Bigger governments, particularly when there are aid and trade transactions which are of relevance and bearing in mind that 100,000 Brits go to the Maldives every year, we can put other governments under pressure to give their own people the freedom and to treat them decently as we would expect people to be treated here in the West and in Britain in particular.
I think the other thing that I would point out is that the Maldives are a Commonwealth country and of course Britain is a big player in the Commonwealth and we would hope that the Commonwealth can put the Maldivian government under pressure.
Again, it’s not for us to tell any government how to run its affairs but we don’t like the thought that people’s human rights and access to a fair trial are being abused and we very much hope that that can be put right.
MN: Could I ask you as a party, whether you think Tony Blair’s Labour government is doing enough to promote human rights in the Maldives?
GS: I don’t want to be critical of Tony Blair and his government. They’ve got plenty on their plate and in many ways we support some of the efforts they’ve made to stand up for human rights around the world and some of these situations are very complicated. So I’m not really here to criticize Mr. Blair’s government at this stage but more can always be done.
And the way the world works is if we parliamentarians and opposition parties put our own governments under pressure that will hopefully persuade them to take an even greater stand and to put even more pressure on the individuals who are behind the kind of human rights abuses that we can no longer find acceptable in the 21st century.
I hope Mr. Blair and the Foreign Secretary will take an even tougher line. I very much hope that the President of the Maldives will listen to that and recognize that the eyes of the world are upon him at this time and its up to him how he conducts his own affairs but let’s make sure that everybody gets a fair trial and that’s all we are calling for.

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Mr. Gary Streeter, a British MP and Chairman of the Conservative Party’s new human rights commission. He told Minivan News why Britain’s main opposition party is so concerned about what is going on in the Maldives.

MN: Could you explain a little about who you are and what the Conservative Party’s new Human Rights Commission is all about?

GS: My name is Gary Streeter and I’m a Conservative Member of Parliament in Britain and I’ve been an MP for 13 years and for the last five years taken a specialist interest in international affairs of one kind or another.

Earlier this Autumn, our shadow foreign secretary Dr Liam Fox, because we have a Labour [party] government at the moment so the Conservatives are in opposition, asked me to set up and chair a new thing for the Conservative Party, a human rights commission, which is intended to look around the world and monitor human rights records of any states that we are concerned about with a view to shaping our foreign policy baring in mind how governments around the world treat their own people. We are just getting going and it’s been drawn to my attention that there are problems in the Maldives and that is what we have been trying to raise here as an issue.

MN: What are the concerns that you have about the Maldives at the moment?

GS: Here in Britain we think of the Maldives as paradise on earth and lots of people go there for a spectacular holiday and get married and all sorts of things and I’m sure that won’t change but we are concerned a recent reports that the current government are not allowing room for democracy to breathe in the Maldives and in particular the leader of the main opposition party Mohamed Nasheed [was] recently arrested and standing trial for terrorism charges and other offenses. I wasn’t present at the peaceful vigil in Male’ in August when he was arrested, but it sounds from many of the things that I’ve heard that these charges may not be entirely well-founded.

It’s not for us to say whether he is guilty or innocent. Our main concern is: is he going to get a fair trial? And from the report of some independent UK lawyers who went to Maldives in September [Sir Ivan Lawrence Commission], which I’ve read very carefully, it does seem that that is highly unlikely. We think that that is a breach of international human rights and we are calling upon Maldives government to make sure that Mohamed Nasheed does receive a fair trial and gets justice.

MN: What do you think the Conservative Party can do to help secure Nasheed a fair trial and also push forward the democratic processes in the Maldives?

GS: Well, the Conservative Party at the moment can do two things. One is to raise the issue here and make a noise about it, and that is what we plan to do. And secondly, to put our own government, the British government, under pressure to put the Maldivian government under pressure to improve its performance on human rights.

That is the reality of the world in which we live. Bigger governments, particularly when there are aid and trade transactions which are of relevance and bearing in mind that 100,000 Brits go to the Maldives every year, we can put other governments under pressure to give their own people the freedom and to treat them decently as we would expect people to be treated here in the West and in Britain in particular.

I think the other thing that I would point out is that the Maldives are a Commonwealth country and of course Britain is a big player in the Commonwealth and we would hope that the Commonwealth can put the Maldivian government under pressure.

Again, it’s not for us to tell any government how to run its affairs but we don’t like the thought that people’s human rights and access to a fair trial are being abused and we very much hope that that can be put right.

MN: Could I ask you as a party, whether you think Tony Blair’s Labour government is doing enough to promote human rights in the Maldives?

GS: I don’t want to be critical of Tony Blair and his government. They’ve got plenty on their plate and in many ways we support some of the efforts they’ve made to stand up for human rights around the world and some of these situations are very complicated. So I’m not really here to criticize Mr. Blair’s government at this stage but more can always be done.

And the way the world works is if we parliamentarians and opposition parties put our own governments under pressure that will hopefully persuade them to take an even greater stand and to put even more pressure on the individuals who are behind the kind of human rights abuses that we can no longer find acceptable in the 21st century.

I hope Mr. Blair and the Foreign Secretary will take an even tougher line. I very much hope that the President of the Maldives will listen to that and recognize that the eyes of the world are upon him at this time and its up to him how he conducts his own affairs but let’s make sure that everybody gets a fair trial and that’s all we are calling for.

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Why I Want to be MDP President – Mody

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with MDP Presidency candidate Mohamed Ibrahim Didi (Mody).
MN: Why are you standing for the leadership of the MDP in the forthcoming Congress?
M: I am not contesting because I have any selfish needs nor because I have a great ambition to be the party leader. However, MDP has come to a stage where the party needs to show leadership and prove to the people that it can confidently govern the country. I am contesting because the leadership of the country is not one man’s own domain. And i think all the capable people who have nominated themselves have proved that there are people who are willing and able to lead the Maldives into a modern democracy.
MN: MDP has said the party needs to develop a set of policies. What sort of policies would you like to see the party develop?
M: It is up to the party members to decide on the policy they would like their party to have. As for me, I would like a more just and equal society. I wouldn’t want people who are sick to go and beg for money to get medical treatment because they can’t afford it. I wouldn’t want drug peddlars in front of schools where our children study. I want the economic benefits to be distributed in a more equitable manner. I want the justice system in the country to treat everybody fairly and equally.
MN: What do you think the MDP needs to do to dig the country out of the political hole it is currently in?
M: The things are standing at a standstill because the government is refusing to listen to the voice of the people. The government is refusing to talk with the other parties. Only through a dialogue between the government and opposition can we get out of this mess. However, the government must be sincere in starting a dialogue. I don’t think keeping the chairperson of the opposition party under detention shows sincerity. We are willing to talk with the government only when they release the political prisoners and show their sincerity.
MN:What should the MDP be doing to ensure those arrested following the 12-14 August unrest are released, including the current Chairperson Anni.
M: I believe what we have all agreed in Colombo is a good course of action. Unless the political prisoner are released, MDP must pursue all means of peaceful civil disobedience. We must not deter from our course of action because of warnings and threats from the government. What we are proposing to do is not illegal but what is a right of ours. It is a right granted to people in all democratic societies. Preventing us from practicing our rights to freedom of assembly and expression will be a violation of our constitution.
MN: Some MDP members have said you have been quite quiet as an MP since the January elections. Do you think this will impact on your chances for party president?
M: I have been working as an MP in the People’s Majlis as well as People’s Special Majlis. I am working as a member of the the caretaker committee of MDP. I have not been quiet but I may not have been very visible. I will respect the decision of the members of the Congress when the decision is made in December.

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with MDP Presidency candidate Mohamed Ibrahim Didi (Mody).

MN: Why are you standing for the leadership of the MDP in the forthcoming Congress?

M: I am not contesting because I have any selfish needs nor because I have a great ambition to be the party leader. However, MDP has come to a stage where the party needs to show leadership and prove to the people that it can confidently govern the country. I am contesting because the leadership of the country is not one man’s own domain. And i think all the capable people who have nominated themselves have proved that there are people who are willing and able to lead the Maldives into a modern democracy.

MN: MDP has said the party needs to develop a set of policies. What sort of policies would you like to see the party develop?

M: It is up to the party members to decide on the policy they would like their party to have. As for me, I would like a more just and equal society. I wouldn’t want people who are sick to go and beg for money to get medical treatment because they can’t afford it. I wouldn’t want drug peddlars in front of schools where our children study. I want the economic benefits to be distributed in a more equitable manner. I want the justice system in the country to treat everybody fairly and equally.

MN: What do you think the MDP needs to do to dig the country out of the political hole it is currently in?

M: The things are standing at a standstill because the government is refusing to listen to the voice of the people. The government is refusing to talk with the other parties. Only through a dialogue between the government and opposition can we get out of this mess. However, the government must be sincere in starting a dialogue. I don’t think keeping the chairperson of the opposition party under detention shows sincerity. We are willing to talk with the government only when they release the political prisoners and show their sincerity.

MN:What should the MDP be doing to ensure those arrested following the 12-14 August unrest are released, including the current Chairperson Anni.

M: I believe what we have all agreed in Colombo is a good course of action. Unless the political prisoner are released, MDP must pursue all means of peaceful civil disobedience. We must not deter from our course of action because of warnings and threats from the government. What we are proposing to do is not illegal but what is a right of ours. It is a right granted to people in all democratic societies. Preventing us from practicing our rights to freedom of assembly and expression will be a violation of our constitution.

MN: Some MDP members have said you have been quite quiet as an MP since the January elections. Do you think this will impact on your chances for party president?

M: I have been working as an MP in the People’s Majlis as well as People’s Special Majlis. I am working as a member of the the caretaker committee of MDP. I have not been quiet but I may not have been very visible. I will respect the decision of the members of the Congress when the decision is made in December.

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