April 15, 2012 – Minivan News

Mixed fortunes for pro-government parties in island council voting

There were mixed fortunes for government aligned parties in island council by-elections held yesterday in contrast to the national unity government’s success in simultaneous parliamentary polls.

In polls for the vacant seat on the Haa Dhaal Kumundhoo Island Council, PPM candidate Mohamed Shafy received 257 votes to beat MDP rival Aishath Hassan and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Abdul Hakeem. The polls saw the MDP lose its majority on the local council.

Hassan ultimately finished in second place having secured 164 votes, followed by Hakeem with 123.

In the Thaa Gaadhifushi Island Council contest, MDP candidate Mohamed Irushad won the seat, which is based in the Thimarafushi constituency, by securing 223 votes against PPM’s Hussein Ziyau. PPM candidate Ziyau tallied 169 votes.

Though yesterday’s by-elections saw the first contest for parliamentary seats since the controversial transfer of power that bought President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to power in February, an island council by-election was held in Noonu Maafaru on March 17.

MDP candidate Abdulla Majid Ali took the Noonu Maafaru seat with 240 votes, winning by a margin of four against PPM candidate Muslih Mohamed, who tallied 236 votes.

The seat was previously held by a DRP councillor.

Five by-elections have now been successfully concluded since February 7, with the MDP telling local media today that it accepted that outcome of all recent local by-elections. The MDP’s position comes as the party pushes ahead with calls for early presidential elections.

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PG receives charges against Former President Nasheed in Chief Judge arrest

The Maldives Police Service has today sent the case of the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Minivan News understands that under the submitted case, Former President Mohamed Nasheed could stand to face charges for his alleged role in ordering the detention of the judge earlier this year. Any final decision to press charges will then be down to the prosecutor general.

The country’s judges and their conduct became a major focus for former President Nasheed in the run up to him being replaced by Dr Waheed in February, leading to eventual calls for international assistance on the matter.

Nasheed had at the time raised concerns over allegations of perjury and “increasingly blatant collusion” between senior judicial figures and politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Charges

However, it is the former president who now himself faces criminal charges relating to the detention of the judge.

According to sources linked to the case, the charges levied against Nasheed relate to the violation of article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives, and for violation of Article 12 clause (a) of Judges Act (Act no 13/2010).

Article 44 of the Maldives Constitution states: “No person shall be arrested or detained for an offence unless the arresting officer observes the offence being committed, or has reasonable and probable grounds or evidence to believe the person has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, or under the authority of an arrest warrant issued by the court.”

Article 12 clause (a) of the Judges Act states that a judge can be arrested without a court warrant, but only if he is found indulging in a criminal act. The same article also states that if a judge comes under suspicion of committing a criminal act or being about to commit a criminal act, they can only be taken into custody with a court warrant obtained from a higher court than that of which the judge presently sits on. This warrant has to be approved by the prosecutor general.

A police official today confirmed that the case regarding the judge’s attention had been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office today.

“Today at around 9:30 am, we have submitted the case [the arrest of Judge Abdulla] to the prosecutor general. We have completed all the necessary investigations required,” the police official said.

An official from the Prosecutor General’s Office also confirmed to Minivan News that the charges sent to it by police were against Nasheed. However, the official refused to explain the exact nature of the charges, stating that the case was still being assessed by their legal team.

Spokesperson for Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy said that he would not comment on the issue until after a party meeting scheduled to discuss the issue was held

Judge arrest

Judge Abdulla was arrested by the MNDF on January 16 this year, in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18. The MNDF had acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

As Judge Abdulla continued to be held, Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz later joined the High Court and Supreme Court in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest, requesting that the judge be released.

According to Muizz, police are required to go through the PG’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant from the High Court.

“They haven’t followed the procedures, and the authorities are in breach of law. They could be charged with contempt of the courts,” he said at the time.

However, following the controversial resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7, Judge Abdulla was released that evening after incumbent president Mohamed Waheed Hassan took over the presidency.

A second case involving Nasheed has also been sent to the prosecutor general by the police that involved the confiscation of bottles of alcohol allegedly found at his residence shortly after his presidency ended.

In a press conference, Deputy Head of the Drug Enforcement Department, Sub-Inspector Ismail Fareed, noted that all people questioned regarding the case had fully cooperated.

However, Nasheed maintained that he had no part to play in the confiscated liquor bottles.

HRCM

Just last month, Nasheed became the first president to be summoned before the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) regarding his role in the arrest of Judge Abdulla.

Nasheed used his testimony to claim that he had been informed at the time by the Home Ministry that the judge allegedly posed a “national threat” – prompting his eventual detention.

The former president additionally claimed that the Home Ministry had communicated with the Defence Ministry on the situation, which in turn led to the decision to arrest the judge after watchdog bodies like the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has raised alleged concerns over his ethical conduct.

“I was told Abdulla Mohamed would not comply with the police’s summons to investigate allegations [against him],” Nasheed later stated at a press conference following the meeting with the HRCM.

“The Home Minister wrote to the Defense Minister that Abdulla Mohamed’s presence in the courts was a threat to national security. And to take necessary steps. And that step, the isolation of Abdulla Mohamed, was what the [Defense] Ministry deemed necessary.”

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Former President Gayoom to attend by-elections victory celebrations in Guraidhoo

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is to reportedly visit Guraidhoo in Thaa Atoll this evening to celebrate the victory of government-aligned political parties in yesterday’s parliamentary by-elections.

The by-elections were held to elect MPs for the constituencies of Kaashidhoo and Thimarafushi – both seats were won by parties in the national unity government of current President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The Thimarafushi seat was formerly filled by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Mustafa, but the seat was yesterday won by Mohamed Shareef, a candidate for Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

The Jumhoory Party’s (JP) Abdullah Jabir meanwhile claimed the Kaashidhoo seat.

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CSC announces intention to reimburse deducted wages

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has announced today it is to reimburse money deducted from the earnings of government employees between January to December 2010.

The wage repayments, amounting to Rf443.7 million (US$28.8 million), will be disbursed in monthly instalments over twelve months from July 1 this year, the CSC confirmed in a press release. This money has not been accounted for in this year’s state budget, the deficit of which has already drawn concern from the International Monetary Fund.

This reduction in civil servant pay was introduced by the previous government in an attempt to manage a financial crisis back in 2009. The initial deduction, agreed between the Finance ministry and the CSC, was only due to last for three months until the government’s income had risen above Rf7billion (US$544 million).

However, after the Finance Ministry refused to restore wages to the previous level, the CSC took the case to the courts.

After the dispute between the government and the CSC was submitted to legal adjudication, the Civil Court ruled that the Finance Ministry did not have the authority to reduce the salaries, a cut of up to 20 percent in some cases. The CSC at the time interpreted this as a decision to restore the deducted salaries, a decision upheld by the High Court in May of last year.

“Hidden political agenda”

At the height of the discord between the two departments in February 2011, the Finance Ministry claimed that certain members of the CSC were using the issue as a cover to attain “a hidden political agenda.”

“The CSC is making it difficult for the government to implement the necessary economic policies [and are therefore] indirectly trying to damage the economy,” the Ministry said in a statement at the time.

“[The CSC’s actions] will result in an increased budget deficit, make it difficult to maintain the value of the rufiyaa against the dollar and will damage the Maldivian economy, affecting each and every citizen of this country.”

The Finance Minister Abdullah Jihad recently announced that he would return the budget for this year to parliament as the current rate of expenditure would leave a deficit of Rf2 billion. Jihad could not be contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press regarding the impacts the reimbursement might have on state expenditure.

Ahmed Nazim, head of the Parliamentary Financial Committee, was also unavailable for comment.

Concerns over the level of spending on civil servants in the Maldives are well documented. A 2010 World Bank report entitled “how did the Maldives get into this situation?” noted that “the origin of the crisis is very clear… the wage bill for public sector employees grew dramatically in a very short time.”

Increases to the salaries and allowances of government employees between 2006 and 2008 reached 66 percent, “by far the highest increase in compensation over a three year period to government employees of any country in the world,” the report noted. The report showed spending on civil servants’ salaries rising from Rf2billion to nearly Rf5billion between 2007 and 2009.

Pay cuts for civil servants were just one of the many deficit reduction measures suggested by the IMF during its meetings with the government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan earlier this month.

“The expenditure has not been under control since 2009. It has been rising, and we have been [issuing] warnings since then,” Haveeru reported the Chief of the IMF mission in the Maldives, Jonathan Dunn, as telling parliament at the time.

The governments attempts to reduce spending have seen a Finance Committee investigation into the Aasandha health care scheme which accounts for around ten percent of the government’s budget. It has been described by it’s chairman, Ahmed Nazim, as a “hole in the pocket of the government.”

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) recently released its figures for March, attributing a significant loss of funds to the goverment’s decision to change the way island lease payments are made. The system changed from a lump sum payment to an instalment method for lease renewals, costing the government around Rf350 million (US $23million) that month. The IMF noted that the current budget figures had not accounted for this loss of revenue.

The government also recently announced significant number of benefits and promotions being awarded within the secuity forces.

The IMF predicted dire consequences if the government’s budgetary imbalances were to cause it to exhaust its foreign reserves.

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Government rules out 2012 presidential vote on the back of by-election “Mandate”

The government has said that victory yesterday for its coalition partners in two parliamentary by-elections is a clear indication of its “mandate” amongst the Maldivian people to remain in power until 2013, despite continued local and international calls for early elections.

Following the weekend’s elections, government spokesman Abbas Adil Riza today called on international bodies to take the results of the polls into consideration when reflecting on the need for fresh national polls.

Amidst mostly peaceful voting, official provisional results from the country’s Elections Commission showed that Ahmed Shareef of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Jumhoory Party’s (JP) Abdullah Jabir both beat ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidates to take seats in the People’s Majlis.

From a government perspective, Abbas claimed that the by-elections should be seen as a “vote of confidence” by the public in the national unity government made up of parties such as the JP, the PPM and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

However, the MDP maintained yesterday that the by-elections indicated that the country was able to hold “free and fair elections” as soon as possible.

“The MDP has consistently called for early presidential elections in the Maldives to resolve the political deadlock that exists since the unlawful transfer of power on February 7 following police and military backed coup in the Maldives,” stated MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor .

“Elections today are held at a time when [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayyoom has publicly stated early Presidential elections would not be held in the Maldives citing conditions for elections are not right and also that Elections Commission does not have the capacity to hold early elections in the Maldives.”

Public support

In addressing the MDP’s claims, government spokesperson Abbas believed the results of polling for the two parliamentary and two Island Council seats indicated public acceptance of President Waheed’s administration.

“It is clear that there is public support in the country for this government and that there are not any problems with its constitutional mandate to be in power. In three out of the four elections held, the coalition won by a clear majority,” said Abbas. “The MDP has continued to call for early elections, though yesterday’s elections show that the public backs the government until early elections can be held in July 2013.”

CMAG

Abbas’ comments were made as the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which was last month criticised by President Waheed’s government for showing “bias” in calling for early elections, is set to convene tomorrow.

The political situation in the Maldives since the transfer of power that bought President Waheed into office on February 7 will be a key topic of discussion for the tomorrow’s meeting. The CMAG panel meeting tomorrow comprises of foreign ministers from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Jamaica, Sierra Leone,Tanzania and Trinidad and Tobago.

Since CMAG made its original statement last month about the Maldives situation, the US and EU have also pledged to support the Commonwealth in working to facilitate fair, early elections.

Earlier this month, the US government pledged US$500,000 (Rf7.7 million) to help fund an elections program to assist Maldivian institutions in ensuring a free and fair presidential election.

In announcing the elections funding,Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Colombo Valerie Fowler said at the time that the US would “work with the Commonwealth to help the Maldives work through the current situation to elections”.

The US will lend any support, including technical assistance, to ensure the next presidential election in the Maldives is conducted “smoothly and observed the rule of law”, Fowler said.

“Through USAID we are in the process of starting an election programme that will assist Maldivian institutions in ensuring a free and fair presidential election. We have allocated US$500,000 to start that process and anticipate that we can begin as soon as July 2012.”

However, Fowler noted that the US believed there needed to be an “environment conducive to early elections”, an aim that could only be created through dialogue, as well as capacity building measures.

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Attacked Raajje TV presenters allege “political motivation” behind assault

Two TV presenters working for private broadcaster ‘Raajje TV’ were assaulted yesterday whilst on the island of Hulhumale’, an attack the station has claimed is politically motivated.

Speaking to Minivan News, Qufthaq Ajeer claimed he and colleague Mohamed Jinah had been assaulted and threatened with sharp weapons on the island as a result of a political TV program they presented together.

‘’We were waiting in Hulhumale yesterday, I went there to get my bike,’’ said Qufthaq. ‘’At about 6:30pm, four men on two motorbikes came and attacked us.’’

Qufthaq said his colleague Jinah was stabbed in the back and he was hit in the eye.

“My colleague suffered a 7 inch-long, 2 inch-deep wound on his back,” he said.

Qufthaq alleged that the attacks were politically motivated.‘’They [the attackers] asked us to stop the TV program,” he claimed

The presenter also noted that a week ago, an unknown caller rang up Raajje TV’s Offices and warned the channel to stop broadcasting their TV program.

‘’We received death threats a week ago and I think this attack is related to the earlier threats,’’ said Qufthaq, who was also a former journalist at private radio station DhiFM.

Raajje TV CEO Ahmed Rafeeq told Minivan News today that the channel was extremely concerned by the attack, which had followed a number of warnings previously sent to the broadcaster.

‘’We have been receiving several warnings recently and now that they have attacked one of us, the other journalists are scared and mentally affected,’’ Rafeeq said.

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) also condemned the attack on the two presenters, stating that it was against freedom of expression.

The MJA said it believed the attack had been designed to intimidate journalists and to obstruct the freedom of press and expression as guaranteed under the national constitution.

The association also called on authorities to bring the assailants to justice.

Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that police were presently investigating the case, but no arrests have been made so far.

‘’We questioned both of them and we are trying to identify the assailants,’’ Haneed said. ‘’No arrests have been made so far.’’

Pro-government political parties have previously alleged that Raajje TV was biased and working in favour of former president Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The station has actively covered MDP protests and rallies, and in several cases aired incorrect reports of fatalities which police later cited as a factor in the subsequent and widespread destruction of police property.

However, Raajje TV is not the only private media group to claim to have come under politically motivated attacks of late.

VTV attack

Last month, the offices of private broadcaster Villa Television (VTV) were attacked during confrontations between security forces and alleged anti-government protesters in Male’ on March 19.

VTV was briefly brought off air following the incident – an act claimed by the station’s owner to be tantamount to “terrorism”. Local media bodies also criticised protesters for allegedly threatening journalists and media personnel covering the clashes.

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President Waheed scores “first political win” with weekend’s polls, reports regional media

Regional media reports have begun to surface following the outcome of yesterday’s parliamentary by-elections in Kaashidhoo and Thimarafushi – interpreting poll results as a major victory for President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The Hindustan Times ran with the headline “Maldives bypolls: First political win for president”. Meanwhile, the Pakistan-based Business Recorder described the president as having “successfully faced down his first popularity test.”

However, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which continues to question the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s administration, has hit out at suggestions that the polls reflected widespread public support for the government.

As polling commenced yesterday, President Waheed’s own Gaumee Itihad Party (GIP) did not field any candidates for the by-elections. Instead, the president threw his support behind candidates from the former opposition Jumhoree Party (JP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Official provisional results provided by the Elections Commission found that the PPM’s Ahmed Shareef won in the Thimarafushi constituency with 1756 votes (56 percent of the ballot). MDP candidate Mohamed Musthafa came second with 1327 votes – a difference of 428.

Abdullah Jabir triumphed in the Kaashidhoo by-election with 1107 votes (54 percent of the ballot). His MDP opponent followed him with 919 votes while PPM candidate Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim came fourth with nine votes – a single vote behind another candidate who had contested independently and came in third.

Both the PPM and JP form part of Waheed’s unity government, assembled after the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Yesterday’s voting appeared to pass without significant incident, despite widespread concerns that violence could accompany the first parliamentary by-elections to be held since President Waheed came to power. However, the MDP candidate for Thimirafushi, Mohamed Mustafha, has disputed the result, citing significant irregularities surrounding polling in Thaa Atoll Guraidhoo.

Speaking to Minivan News today, MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor alleged that election observers were obstructed from conducting their duties in Guraidhoo. He also claimed that party observers had been arrested before the polls closed, allowing the ballots to be rigged by state representatives.

Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef said the police had received no reports of any arrests or incidents in Guraidhoo. He also reported that there had been no unrest in either constituency after results were announced.

Election Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq is reported in local media as having said that there were no concerns that would lead him to question the validity of the polls or their results.

In considering the by-election results, President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza today said he believed the vote served as a ringing endorsement of the current government. Abbas added that the ballots reflected “public confidence” in Dr Waheed’s administration, as well providing a vital working majority in the Majlis.

Abbas also felt that Saturday’s success gave the government a clear signal that it has sufficient support to complete the full presidential term into 2013.

Alternatively, MDP spokesperson Ghafoor said that he saw the polls as “the price we have to pay for early elections – to show that the right conditions [for presidential elections] are here.”

Ghafoor argued that the by-elections were essentially a throw-back to the pre-2008 Gayoom-era, dismissing the interpretation that the result showed support for the current President.

“The intricacies of local elections have a long history of corruption. This [result] has nothing to do with Waheed, it’s Gayoom’s people,” he continued.

President Waheed last night thanked all those who voted in support of the national unity government via his official Twitter page: “Thanks to all who voted for Shareef and Jabir. We have a clear majority in Maldives parliament,” he wrote.

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Silicon Valley joins the Maldives on sea level rise threat list: Forbes

Silicon Valley, home to some of the world’s most prominent software groups and tech innovators, is joining the Maldives in trying to battle a potential rise in sea levels that could threaten to submerge both locations.

Writing for Forbes, Anthony Wing Kosner points to a new US$1 billion, 10 year fund raising plan launched Thursday by US Business Leaders and Senator Dianne Feinstein to try and prevent the California headquarters of Silicon Valley giants like Facebook from being submerged.

That $1 Billion that Facebook just paid for Instagram could have paid for updating the levees and restoring the wetlands in the drained former site of San Francisco Bay that is now Silicon Valley, home to Facebook, Google and billions of dollars of real estate. That the Valley has joined the Maldives (with somewhat less urgency) on the list of those threatened by potential sea level rise is actually a good thing.

Whether through floating architecture, alternative energy, better storm prediction or any number of other innovations, the future of humanity on earth is relying on the brain power of places like Silicon Valley to solve the problems caused by the planet’s increasing use of energy. The tech companies could move to higher ground, of course, an option not available in the Maldives, but the geographical web of social connections is so intense in the Valley that there are strong reasons to persist.

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