Less than one week after being removed from her position as Attorney General, Azima Shukoor has been appointed as Special Advisor to President Dr Mohamed Waheed.
The Maldivian Democratic Party had filed a no-confidence motion against Azima, arguing that she had demeaned the constitution, parliamentary powers and the integrity of the Attorney General’s post by advocating against the Elections Commission in September’s vote annulment case.
The appointment comes despite President Waheed’s term being constitutionally scheduled to end in just seven days. Whilst the Supreme Court has suggested he could legally continue in his role until a replacement is selected, the Majlis passed a motion last week providing for the speaker of the house to take over during any interim period.
Waheed himself has said that he does not wish to stay in office past the November 11 deadline. The re-scheduled election is due to take place this Saturday (November 9).
The International Democratic Union (IDU) has released a statement condemning the “authoritarian”, “unconstitutional and undemocratic” role of the police in the cancellation of the October 19 presidential election.
“The IDU calls upon the President of the Maldives, the Government and all other political parties to ensure that the Elections Commissioner is empowered to hold a free and fair election to elect a new President immediately without interference from governmental authority,” read a press release from the group’s Executive Committee.
The IDU is a collection of over 54 centre-right political parties from around the globe who meet to discuss and exchange policy ideas. The group’s leadership includes former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and current UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.
The statement also expressed concern regarding potential restrictions on international election observers by the Government of Maldives.
Police Superintendent Abdulla Nawaz has defended the import of of over US$100,000 (MVR1.5million) worth of crowd control equipment from the UK’s Survitec Group.
The shipment of items – including various types of tear gas grenades and ‘rubber projectiles’ – was revealed by the UK’s Guardian newspaper yesterday.
“It’s not that the police are going to use each and every shell that has been brought to Maldives. The intention is very clear, it’s not that we intend to use it every time people come out onto the streets,” Nawaz told Minivan News today.
“Anything can be controversial if people try to make it a controversial issue.”
The Guardian quoted the UK Government as saying that it had would have blocked any such exports from within the country.
“We have not issued any licences for the export or trade of crowd control equipment to the Maldives in at least the last year. Under current circumstances, we would not do so,” the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills told the Guardian.
“The British government remains deeply concerned about the ongoing political situation in Maldives, including the reports of intimidation, violence and arrests that have taken place in recent months.”
The items evaded such scrutiny as they were shipped from Brazil after being sold by a Singapore based subsidiary of the company.
The itinerary – shipped at a further cost of US$40,000 – has been leaked via social media, and includes tear gas and tear gas grenades costing US$46,632 (MVR718,132).
When asked if the police had been able to procure such equipment from other countries, or on other occasions since the controversial transfer of power last year, Nawaz said that he did not know and would need to gain further clarification.
Excessive force
The Guardian’s article quoted both Amnesty International and Friends of Maldives as being used for political repression, particularly following the police’s integral role in the delay of the rescheduled elections on October 19.
“It’s tempting to think this consignment looks like a case of pre-emptive stockpiling by the MPS, forewarning a possible crackdown if the elections process continues in a manner not to its liking,” Friends of Maldives’ Dave Hardingham told the Guardian.
Nawaz today argued that the equipment listed was perfectly ordinary for any police force to have, urging that people instead focus on the way in which the equipment was used.
“Even though there is tear gas, we should look into how police have reacted. I believe that during the past 18-19 months, the force actually used against protests was very minimum. Very rare occasions,” he said.
“I believe that police forces across the globe have such things – it’s not that this is happening for the first time in the Maldives.”
“I can guarantee that the police service itself would not get into an illegal act to use excessive force against a citizen of the republic of maldives.”
Nawaz said that the police would do everything it could to look into any cases of excessive force by police, and urged independent authorities such as the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission to do the same.
February 7
The police played a key role in the contested resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7 2012.
Anti-government protests led by then-opposition political parties and religious scholars resulted in a mutiny by a segments of both police and military officers against Nasheed, resulting in his premature departure from office.
The following day, Nasheed along with the MDP and thousands of people, took to the streets in protest claiming that he had been ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.
The demonstration were soon met, however, with a brutal crackdown from both police and military officers during which MDP MPs and members of the public sustained injuries.
The Commonwealth backed inquiry into the events of February 7, although claiming that the day’s events had not amounted to a coup, urged reform of the police force.
During a parliamentary inquiry by the Parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) twelve months on, the PIC claimed that actions by police were unlawful and amounted to crimes worthy of prosecution by the state.
After concluding its investigations last June, President of the PIC Abdulla Waheed said the commission had investigated a total of 20 cases of police misconduct that took place on February 6,7 and 8.
Out of the 20 cases, 12 concerned police brutality during the crackdown on protests and during the events that unfolded, while eight concerned issuance of unlawful orders, obeying unlawful orders and officers failing to comply with the law while on duty, said Waheed.
The police’s handling of anti-government protests in the months following the transfer of power were also chronicled by Amnesty International which urged the government to “remove any bias in the police force, so they act as officers of law without prejudice, and do not take sides politically.”
Speaking at a campaign rally in Haa Alif Atoll Dhidhoo Island, former president and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed has called on his rivals to compete in elections instead of using the courts to obstruct presidential polls and disqualify MPs from the parliament.
Nasheed’s comments follow the Supreme Court’s stripping of MDP MP Ali Azim and MDP aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Mohamed Nashiz of their seats, and the Criminal Court’s sentencing in absentia of MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor to six months in jail for disobedience to order.
Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) council member Ibrahim ‘Wadde’ Waheed is seeking the disqualification of DRP Leader and MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s seat, citing his failure to pay decreed debt as per a 2010 court verdict.
“Our rivals do not know elections,” Nasheed said, adding that the only time his rivals had participated in elections was the multi-party elections of 2008 in which the MDP had defeated 30-year ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Instead of campaigning and strengthening their political parties, rival PPM and Jumhooree Party were inciting hatred and engaging in back biting, Nasheed alleged.
“These people are a group, in other words a gang. There is no way they can participate in peaceful political activities,” he added whilst calling on PPM’s Abdulla Yameen and JP’s Gasim Ibrahim to compete in presidential elections.
Nasheed emphasized that the constitution exists to protect the citizenry’s rights, and that the judiciary, executive and legislature existed to uphold these rights.
“It is always, we, the citizens, who will say the last word in the Maldives,” he said.
Neither MDP nor EC want a vote: Gasim
Meanwhile, the JP’s Gasim Ibrahim has accused the Elections Commission (EC) of collaborating with Nasheed to obstruct free and fair polls on November 9.
“Neither the MDP nor the Elections Commission want to hold a vote. I accuse the Election Commission of doing things according to MDP’s wishes. I hear [the EC] does things the way Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed wants,” Gasim said at a press conference on Sunday.
The JP had sought and won an annulment of the first round of president held on September 7 at the Supreme Court, after narrowly placing third in the polls. Since then, the JP has continued to accuse the EC of fraud and tampering with the voter registry.
The EC wants Speaker Abdulla Shahid to assume the presidency at the end of the current presidential term on November 11 and hold polls afterwards, Gasim alleged.
“[T]hey want Abdulla Shahid to assume the presidency and then do this [hold election]. I think that is their spirit. This does not come as a surprise,” he told the press.
If no candidate gains over 50 percent in the November 9 polls, a second round is scheduled for November 16, five days after the end of the presidential term.
According to local media, Gasim has also said he favors a military takeover to Speaker Shahid assuming the presidency. He has called for President Dr Mohamed Waheed to continue beyond his term.
“Is it better for a man who is selected to assume the presidency? Or the Military? What is the difference? On one side they are stealing [the presidency] and doing things outside the law. Isn’t it better that our military takes over the country to save the country and maintain peace? It is their responsibility to ensure safety and peace in this country,” Channel News Maldives (CNM) quotes Gasim saying at a press conference on October 31.
The November 9 election is the EC’s fourth attempt to hold presidential polls. When the JP sought the vote annulment, the EC had scheduled a second round for September 28. With a verdict pending on the eve of elections, the EC decided to proceed with polls the next day.
However, the Supreme Court issued an injunction ordering the security forces to halt election preparations. Shortly afterwards, on October 7, the court annulled the September 7 polls and delineated 16 guidelines to hold polls by October 20.
The guidelines required all presidential candidates to sign the voter registry. However, with the JP and PPM refusing to sign the registry, the police stopped the election an hour before polls were to open.
Gasim on Saturday reiterated that he was ready to approve the voter registry if it was compiled properly. However, he alleged the EC had accepted reregistration forms with fingerprints like “a blot of ink.”
A meeting of parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee held today for the Prosecutor General (PG) to respond to a no-confidence motion was called off after disorderly conduct from MPs of the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives, Jumhooree Party (JP), and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.
A motion was passed with the support of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party MPs to ask PG Ahmed Muiz to submit his defence in writing by 9pm tonight.
The pro-government MPs contended that the proceedings were in violation of parliamentary rules and harangued Chair MP Ahmed Sameer. MPs Riyaz Rasheed, Ilham Ahmed, Ali Arif, Abdul Muhsin Hameed and Ahmed Amir banged saucers and cups on the table and raised their voices.
JP Deputy Leader Ilham played music on his phone and held it up to a mic.
Today’s meeting was held after Muiz asked for more time to respond to the charges last week saying he had been on his annual leave when he received the summons to attend the committee.
Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed resigned from the cabinet last week.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told local media that Jamsheed resigned to assume a post at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to a statement by the President’s Office today, President Dr Mohamed Waheed “thanked him for his valuable services during his tenure as the Health Minister towards the development of the health sector.”
Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights Dr Aamal Ali has been appointed the Acting Minister of Health.
Dr Jamsheed was appointed health minister on February 12, 2012 following the controversial transfer of presidential power five days earlier. He was serving as the Chief Operation Officer at the ADK private hospital after resigning from the director general post at the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC).
With Dr Jamsheed’s resignation, the posts of Attorney General, Home Minister, Foreign Minister and Health Minister are currently vacant with a week left for the expiration of the current presidential term.
Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has expressed regret over “false” allegations by MP Ibrahim Muttalib claiming that parliament was planning to establish a 100-strong military force armed by India for the speaker to assume the presidency on November 11 in the absence of a president-elect.
A press release by the parliament secretariat on Saturday (November 2) stated that Shahid “regretted” the Adhaalath Party MPs’ remarks, which could “incite fear among the public and sow discord.”
“The Speaker of the People’s Majlis said that he assures the Maldivian people at this opportunity that he would not do anything in violation of the constitution of the Republic of Maldives,” the statement read.
Parliament also announced plans to hire two deputies and four assistants to the sergeant at arms as well as 100 security officers to form a security unit that would take over from the MNDF.
The decision to set up the unit has since been slammed by the Defence Ministry, contending that overseeing security of parliament was among the security services’ constitutional duties.
The parliament’s press statement meanwhile noted that the post of sergeant at arms was among the Majlis officers listed in provision 11(a) of the parliamentary rules of procedure.
It added that Mohamed Haleem was appointed to the position following interviews conducted by the General Affairs Committee with interested candidates, after which it had proposed three names to the Majlis floor.
Haleem’s nomination was approved with 56 votes in favour out of the 57 MPs who participated in the vote, the statement noted, which included MPs from the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives, Jumhooree Party and the Maldivian Development Alliance.
The structure of parliament service employees to assist the sergeant at arms was determined by the General Affairs Committee, the statement added.
At the Adhaalath Party press conference, Muttalib claimed that the purpose of establishing the security unit was to prepare for an attack if the police and military refuse to cooperate with Speaker Shahid becoming caretaker president on November 11 if there was no president-elect.
The Fares-Maathoda MP also alleged that the Indian government and GMR could provide weapons to parliament, adding that the formation of “two governments” would inevitably lead to bloodshed.
“Shahid is preparing to get himself sworn into office on November 11. So they are establishing a military force of 100 armed officers. India is heavily involved in this plot. Otherwise we wouldn’t be concerned about this. Given the present actions of India, we cannot rule them out being involved in such a thing. So this is a Majlis orchestrated coup to facilitate that,” Muttalib was quoted as saying in local media.
The governments of India, Britain, Canada and Denmark would then recognise the new administration, Muttalib claimed, after which Indian troops would arrive to protect Shahid’s government amidst the resulting chaos.
The High Court has upheld a Criminal Court decision to extend the detention period of Maldivian Democratic Party member Ali Azim, whose parliamentary seat is being contested by the Supreme Court and the Majlis.
Azim was arrested on charges that he attempted to assault a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer in control of the security of parliament. He has since been released to house arrest.
The High Court ruling on the appeal submitted by Azim stated that his arrest was lawful.
The High Court ruling stated that, on October 26, Azim went inside the parliament and attempted to assault an MNDF officer on duty, adding that it was the responsibility of the armed forces to stop anything that might be a threat to the security of MPs.
The High Court ruling also said that Azim was arrested by police outside the parliament in the presence of his lawyer and that police have completed all the procedure stated in article 48 of the constitution.
Additionally, the High Court also noted that article 74 of the constitution states the Supreme Court has to determine if there is any dispute over the legitimacy of a parliamentarian and that, on October 24 at 6:30pm, the Supreme Court had ruled that Azim was disqualified from his seat and could no longer be considered a member of the Majlis.
The tourism industry’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2012 declined by 0.1 percent following 15.8 percent growth in 2010 and 9.2 percent in 2011, the Finance Ministry revealed in a “Fiscal and Economic Outlook: 2012 to 2016” statement included in the 2014 budget (Dhivehi) submitted to parliament last week.
“The main reason for this was the political turmoil the country faced in February 2012 and the decline in the number of days tourists spent in the country,” the statement explained.
“The most important statistic used to measure productivity in the tourism sector is the total number of nights tourists spend in the country. As the most number of tourists to the country now come from China, we note that the low number of nights on average that a Chinese tourist spends in the Maldives has an adverse effect on the tourism sector’s GDP.”
However, despite negative growth in 2012, the tourism industry is expected to have grown by 5.5 percent in 2013, with a 5.2 percent growth rate forecast for 2014.
The Maldivian economy is largely dependent on tourism, which accounted for 28 percent of GDP on average in the past five years, and generated 38 percent of government revenue in 2012.
Tourism growth
According to the annual tourism yearbook published by the Tourism Ministry, the average occupancy rate of all tourist establishments in 2012 was 2.5 percent below the previous year – at 70.6 percent.
“The major decline in occupancy rate was recorded from the resort/hotel sector, while the occupancy rate of guest houses and safari vessels remained constant at 23.4% in 2012,” the yearbook stated.
The average duration of stay fell from 8.6 days in 2009 to 6.7 days in 2012.
Moreover, following 20.7 percent growth in tourist arrivals in 2010 and 17.6 percent in 2011, the growth rate slowed to 2.9 percent in 2012, well below the annual average of 7.7 percent growth rate from 2008 to 2012.
The yearbook revealed that the overall positive was largely a result of the “outstanding performance” of the industry prior to the transfer of power in February.
“Fiscal discipline”
The outlook statement meanwhile observed that most economic and monetary problems facing the Maldives were “directly or indirectly related to the state’s ‘fiscal discipline.'”
The Finance Ministry noted that a fiscal responsibility law ratified in May stipulates that government debt must be brought below 60 percent of GDP within the next three years.
While public debt in 2012 stood at 78.6 percent of GDP in 2012, the outlook statement revealed that it had fallen to 72.6 percent this year.
However, the figure is expected to grow to 81 percent of GDP in 2014.
A budget surplus in the coming years would be necessary to reach the legally mandated target, the finance ministry stated.
Fiscal deficit (as a percentage of GDP)
While the estimated fiscal deficit in the 2013 budget was MVR1.4 billion (US$90 million) or 3.6 percent of GDP, the deficit at the end of the year would stand at MVR1.7 billion (US$110 million) or 4.7 percent of GDP, the statement noted.
The main reason for the higher than expected deficit spending was failure to implement proposed revenue raising measures intended to generate MVR1.8 billion (US$116.7 million) in new income.
The measures included hiking the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) to 15 percent, raising the airport service charge to US$30, leasing 14 islands for resort development, raising tariffs on oil, introducing GST for telecom services, and “selectively” reversing import duty reductions.
In April, parliament rejected government-sponsored legislation to raise the departure tax on outgoing passengers, prompting Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad to seek parliamentary approval to divert MVR 650 million (US$42 million) allocated for infrastructure projects in the budget to cover recurrent expenditure.
Meanwhile, Jihad reportedly told parliament’s Finance Committee last week that no foreign bank was willing to lend to the Maldives anymore because of instability.
When the new revenue did not materialise, Jihad said the finance ministry approached foreign banks to sell treasury bills, but was turned down. Some banks refused to roll-over previously sold T-bills, he added.
Moreover, banks only agreed to buy T-bills at an 11 percent interest rate, Jihad said, which would not be sustainable for the government.
While MVR500 million (US$32 million) a month was needed to pay salaries and allowances for state employees, government income in some months was just MVR300 million (US$19 million), Jihad noted, leaving no option but to turn to the central bank.
Deficit and debt
The total public and publicly guaranteed external debt in 2012 stood at MVR11 billion (US$713 million) and was estimated to have reached MVR11.6 billion (US$752 million) this year, the outlook statement revealed.
A total of MVR2 billion (US$129 million) from foreign loans was disbursed in 2013 for development projects, with 7.44 percent from multilateral financial institutions, 34.5 percent from bilateral partners, and 51.8 percent from commercial banks.
The MVR839 million (US$54 million) estimated as budget support in 2013 meanwhile included US$25 million from a stand-by credit facility provided by India in 2011 and a US$29.4 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon.
External and domestic debt
The external public debt is projected to increase to MVR12.5 billion (US$810.6 million) next year, the finance ministry noted.
Domestic debt in 2012 was MVR13.8 billion (US$895 million) and MVR16 billion (US$1 billion) in 2013. This figure is projected to rise by 15 percent to MVR18.5 billion (US$1.19 billion) next year.
The state’s total debt in 2013 is therefore estimated to be MVR27.7 billion (US$1.79 billion) – expected to rise to MVR31 billion (US$2 billion) in 2014.
The government spent MVR2.7 billion (US$175 million) in 2012 and MVR3.5 billion (US$227 million) in 2013 for loan repayment and interest payments to service foreign and domestic debts.
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