Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer has signed up to the government aligned Jumhooree Party (JP) on Tuesday.
According to the JP, Sameer joined the party after it promised him the ticket to contest in Dhihdhoo constituency – a seat he currently occupies in parliament – in the upcoming Majlis elections.
Sameer was initially a member of the JP, but later joined the opposition MDP in 2009 to contest in that year’s parliamentary elections.
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(0)The Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka has announced that it is seeking Dhivehi language, Islam, and Quran teachers to teach the Maldivian community living in neighbouring Sri Lanka.
An official of the high commission also stated that they are seeking interested parties to renovate Sosun Villa – the previous building where the High Commission was housed – for the purposes of conducting these classes.
He added that, in addition to classrooms, after renovation Sosun Villa will house a football ground, courts for indoor games, and a hall where cultural Maldivian activities can be held.
“First we are seeking teachers interested in taking these lessons. We will then see how many persons are interested in learning in these classes. For example, if we manage to get enough students to fill three classes, we will need to hire three teachers,” he told local media.
He revealed that the High Commission is aiming to start the classes at the earliest possible opportunity.
(0)Dislikes(0)A 30 year old Chinese tourist staying at a guesthouse with his wife in the island of Fulhadhoo in Baa Atoll drowned on Tuesday morning.
Police have stated that the man was already dead when taken to the Fulhadhoo Health Centre.
They were made aware of the drowning after his wife had sought help from the island community on Tuesday, mid-morning.
(0)Dislikes(0)Attorney General Mohamed Anil has refused to attend the parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing revenue bills after being summoned to a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
The rejection letter sent to the parliament secretariat argued that the bill of amendments to the Tourism Act and T-GST [Tourism Goods and Services Tax] bills include policies compiled by the Economic and Youth Council of the cabinet.
Anil stated that the only role played by the Attorney General’s Office had been to draft the bills as directed by the council.
“As this office has no comments to make on the content of these bills at this moment, I respectfully inform you that I excuse my office from sending staff to attend the meeting we have been invited to,” a parliament official quoted the letter as saying.
Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza has suggested that the absence of the Attorney General (AG) suggests disapproval of government policies.
Upon forming a government late last year, President Abdulla Yameen divided his cabinet into two sub-divisions – a social council and an economic council.
Government aligned parties have initiated special sessions of the parliament in order to extend the duration in which bed taxes can be charged, and also to increase T-GST. The government has also proposed to take full payments as lease from resorts that have extended their contracts.
President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali stated that, while the attorney general’s reasons for refusal are “absolutely clear”, the cabinet has thus far not decided whether it will hold discussions on the relevant policies with the parliament committee.
Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ali Arif – who sits in the committee tasked with reviewing the revenue bills – stated that he would be able to further comment on the matter after deliberations with the attorney general.
“What the AG has actually said is that he has already provided his views on the matter to the cabinet’s Economic Council, and therefore he declines from attending the committee to present the same views,” Arif stated.
Opposing view
An opposition MDP member in the same committee has interpreted the AG’s refusal to attend the committee meeting in a different light.
“Reading between the lines, MDP feels that the AG refused to attend as he does not agree with some of the things proposed by the government,” MDP MP Ahmed Hamza told Minivan News today.
“One of the things we feel he disagrees on is the government’s proposal to change the payment terms for resorts, to cancel the extentions granted to payments in breach of what the government has previously agreed with resort owners,” he continued.
“The other thing is the bed tax. The law says bed tax charges are to be ceased from December 31, 2013. The government is now proposing to continue taking it from January 1, 2014, but there is no law to support this. We feel the AG does not support taking this in retrospect after a law is formed now,” Hamza stated.
The AG, Mohamed Anil, was not responding to calls at the time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Elections Commission (EC) has announced it will be accepting applications for the People’s Majlis elections between January 29 and February 11.
A fee of MVR5000 (US$ 324) is required for every application.
The parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 22, and results are to be announced on March 29. The commission also published the Elections Regulation 2014 today.
As the Elections Commission (EC) gears up for the elections, all major political parties contesting have begun to select their candidates.
Maldivian Democratic Party
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – who narrowly lost the presidential election last November -will be contesting for all 85 seats of the People’s Majlis. 27 candidates have won the party’s ticket without contest, being the sole contender in those areas.
Tickets for the remaining 58 seats – sought by 176 candidates – are to be awarded through party primaries. The primaries were held for 20 seats on January 25, after being called off the previous day due to administrative and voter registry issues. Winners in these areas have also been announced.
Polling is expected to take place tomorrow for Baarashu constituency tomorrow, and primaries will be held for another 30 constituencies this weekend.
Governing coalition deal
The governing coalition led by President Abdulla Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has decided to compete as a group. The parties in the coalition have reached a deal to reserve a set number of seats for each party.
As per the deal, 49 seats have been reserved for PPM candidated, 28 seats have been allocated for tourism tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party (JP), and Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam’s Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) will run for 8 seats.
Progressive Party of Maldives
President Abdulla Yameen’s PPM, which has the majority of coalition seat allocations, has scheduled part-primaries for February 4. By 4pm yesterday – the deadline to apply for party tickets – 150 candidates had applied for the allocated 49 seats. These candidates will now go through a screening process where they will be evaluated and graded based on the following criteria;
The screening will be carried out by a committee formed by the party council and the strategic planning committee. Applicants who don’t get at least 75 percent marks will not be qualified to compete in the primaries. In constituencies where one person is qualified for the primary, that candidate will automatically win the ticket. If all the applicants for a seat fail meet the criteria, a primary will be held among them.
Jumhooree Party
The JP yesterday opened applications for 19 of their 28 allocated seats before 30 January. Applications for the remainder of the seats will also be announced soon. Applicants will initially be reviewed by a special committee formed by the party council, giving them points through a set of criteria. The applicants with the most points will receive the party tickets. In case of a draw,the party will attempt to find a solution through dialogue – failing this, the party will discuss a primary election.
Maldives Development Alliance
The Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) have decided to reserve two of their eight allocated seats for sitting MP s – party leader and Dhaalu Meedhoo MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, and Dhaalu Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir. Tickets for Kendhikulhudhoo and Hoarafushi were won by uncontested candidates. Primaries will be held in for Manadhoo and Velidhoo tickets on 30 January, while the application for Holhudhoo constituency is still open.
The MDA has decided not to contest for Gaddhoo constituency, despite being allocated the seat by the coalition, as there are no party members in the area.
Adhaalath Party
While the PPM has earlier discussed allocating coalition seats for the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) through the coalition deal, no seats were allocated for them through the coalition’s parliamentary election deal, as the party is not officially a coalition member. The PPM has said, however, that other members of the coalition are free to share their allocated seats with AP.
In this regard, the JP has proposed an interest to share some of it’s tickets with Adhaalath. According to JP Secretary General Dr Ahmed Saud, the party will propose 1 to 3 seats to Adhaalath with a set of conditions such as not competing with the JP for any other seat. Both JP and Adhaalath has confirmed their leaders will soon hold talks to decide on the matter.
An Adhaalath official told Minivan News that it is unlikely for the party to settle for that amount of seats when the party is already confident about several constituencies.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Abdulla Yameen yesterday instituted an eight-member parole board under the recently ratified Prisons and Parole Act – he also appointed a commissioner of prisons.
The members appointed to the parole board were Fauziyya Ali from the Education Ministry, Mohamed Rasheed from the Health Ministry, Deputy Counsel General Khadeeja Shabeen from the Attorney General’s Office, Mohamed Shah from NGO Irama Youth Association, Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Ahmed, Dr Ahmed Ziyad from the Islamic Ministry, Dr Mohamed Habeeb to represent the medical community, and Dr Shanooha Mansoor as a psychiatrist.
President Yameen also appointed Moosa Asim, of Henveiru Dhiyadhoo, as the commissioner of prisons at the Maldives Correctional Service.
Asim previously served as deputy superintendent at the now-defunct Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service.
Additionally, President Yameen also appointed Abdulla Ahmed, of Dhevinage in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo, as a deputy minister at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(0)Dislikes(0)Two men and one minor were stabbed in Malé City’s Maafannu ward on Monday evening.
According to the police, an 18-year-old male was stabbed before dusk near the Mary Brown restaurant on the southwest corner of Malé. He suffered injuries to his right arm and ribs.
Shortly afterwards, another 18-year-old male was attacked by two individuals on motorbikes near Maafannu Yagoothuge.
A 17-year-old male was also attacked near Ace hardware store. He was stabbed in the back.
None of the victims suffered serious injuries, the police said.
(0)Dislikes(0)The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced the winners in primaries for six parliamentary constituencies today.
Incumbent MP Nazim Rashad won the party ticket for Thulhadhoo constituency, while Ismail Ahmed won the Dhuvaafaru constituency.
Mahmood Idris won the primary for the Maamigili constituency and Ismail Gasim (Souvenir Isse) won the Vilifushi constituency. Abdulla Afeef won the ticket for Gemanafushi and Ahmed Ibrahim Didi (Campus Didi) secured the ticket for Fuvahmulah Medhu constituency.
Meanwhile, Abdulla Nafiz has secured the party ticket for Fuvahmulah South without a vote after his opponent pulled out of the primary today.
Of the 85 People’s Majlis constituencies, the party ticket was initially granted to 27 candidates without a primary due to a lack of contenders.
The party had scheduled primaries for the remaining 58 constituencies, but called off polls due to administrative and voter registry issues.
Voting has now been completed for 25 constituencies. Polling for Baarashu constituency will be held tomorrow,and the MDP expects to hold voting for 30 constituencies during the upcoming weekend.
(0)Dislikes(0)Switzerland’s retailing group Migros and the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) have opened a training centre for Maldivian fishermen.
The fishing industry news source ‘Fish Site’ reported that the aim of the newly opened Fishermen’s Community and Training Centre (FCTC) was to provide long term support for the country’s pole and line fishing communities through fisheries training and education.
According the website, the FCTC will provide free training courses for active fishermen and school leavers.
The source quoted Chairman of the IPNLF John Burton, who described the training centre as “an important milestone for the Maldivian fishing industry, an industry we are all part of, an industry that is at the heart of Maldivian way of life.’’
Government records show that, in 2012, over 120,000 metric tons of fish were caught in the Maldives, with over 10,000 fishermen registered.
“The opening of this centre marks our collective and considerable efforts in building a stronger and commercially competitive pole and line fishing industry for this country, while directly supporting the local fishermen and their communities,’’ said Burton.
Also present at the ceremony, Maldives Fisheries Minister Dr Mohamed Shainee sincerely thanked everyone supporting the program in the name of the ministry and local fishermen for partnering in the development of the fishing industry, keeping pole and line fishing a sustainable method as well as promoting it to other countries.
The FCTC is based in Gan in Laamu Atoll, and will be run by Maldives Fishermen Association.
In November 2013, The European Union declined to extend the duty-free status of imported fish from the Maldives, following the country’s failure to comply with international conventions concerning freedom of religion.
The Maldives exports 40 percent of its US$100 million fishing industry to the EU – its single largest export partner by value.
However, in an interview with Minivan News, Fisheries Minister Dr Shainee stated that this issue could be solved through bilateral relations between the countries in EU.
“The European market or consumer will be affected from this as well. There will a lot of pressure from the consumer’s side, as when prices of fish go up, it’s not just us carrying the burden, but also the consumers. So I think there will be a lot of pressure,’’ he told Minivan News.
Shainee noted that there would be a lot of pressure from the consumers in Europe, with the minister suggesting that people were more educated and wanted these types of niche products.
“Maldives is the only country that doesn’t catch by-catch fish. We are dolphin free. We are catching one by one. We are the most green fisheries industry in the world, in fact. So I am sure the consumers in the European market would like to get something from this side of the world which is more green and environmental friendly,’’ he added.
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