March 23, 2014 – Minivan News

Majlis elections: Undue influence, bribery, and disilussionment led to losses, says MDP

Senior members of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have said that bribery and people losing faith in elections may have been responsible for the party’s loss in yesterday’s election.

While the preliminary results are to be announced by the Elections Commission (EC) tonight, results reported by the media indicate that the MDP have won less than 30 percent of seats (22 – 25 seats) while the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has taken approximately 39 percent of the seats (33 seats).

Along with the seats of the PPM’s coalition partners – including Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party (JP), who reportedly won 14 seats – President Abdulla Yameen’s government appears to have won the approximately 65 percent of the seats in the People’s Majlis.

MDP Chairperson MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and MDP parliamentary group leader MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih – both of whom reclaimed their seats yesterday – expressed discontentment over the party’s overall performance.

“There are a number of constituencies from which the results we got really surprised the MDP. This includes Gaafu Alif, Gaafu Dhaalu and Haa Alif atolls. The results we got from these areas are not the ones we expected or hoped for,” said Hinnavaru member Ibu.

He noted that the party was not satisfied with the results in Malé City, and that while Addu City’s results were largely as expected by the party, losing MP Ilyas Labeeb’s seat was a surprise.

Meanwhile Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail – who lost in yesterday’s Machangolhi Dhekunu poll – said that the results did not surprise him as much.

“I believe the election is a farce – while there was a free vote, it was not a fair vote. Government influences were used, voters were threatened, and people were bribed openly – I noticed this particularly in my constituency.” He said.

Ibra led the drafting of the 2008 democratic constitution in the the constitutional assembly and later served as an advisor to President Mohamed Nasheed.

When the party seemed divided over participating in the election after the Supreme Court sentenced the independent EC members, Ibra revealed that he had supported a boycott just as had former President Nasheed.

“I said at the [MDP] national council meeting as well, it is meaningless to hold an election without addressing those issues. I supported an election boycott until the playing field was leveled. Without it the people’s will cannot be expressed,” said Ibra, stating that he had predicted a low number of seats even at that time.

Undue influence and democratic disillusion

Ibra’s concerns regarding bribery and undue influence by the government and businessmen was echoed by other MPs, with Moosa describing this influence as “huge”.

“In some islands we lost with very small difference because people’s jobs were threatened by businessmen who have influence over them. People were afraid. The government also used their powers and influence,” said the MP for Hulhu Henveiru.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives has today said that “issues of money politics threatens to hijack [the] democratic process” in the Maldives.

While this was a major issue of concern among all parties, parliamentary group leader Ibu also observed that “there are constituencies where the candidates have not put in as much effort as they should have.”

‘Ibra’ Ismail stated that the low turn out could have affected the number of seats won by the MDP, as it is likely that many pro-MDP people did not take part in the election.

While no official voter turnout has yet been announced, the EC has noted that it was very low. Some estimates put turnout as low as 65 percent compared to over 88 percent during the last presidential elections.

“It is too soon to comment [as to why MDP didn’t win the election] – we can only conjecture and surmise at this point, but if look into Malé, it was very obvious that the voter turnout was very low.”

“I believe a lot of MDP supporters and people who have similar thinking did not come out and vote this time. Because many of them believed that it was meaningless, that the government will keep changing the results until they get what they want,” said Ibra.

Ibu Solih, meanwhile, noted that the Supreme Court’s influence in the election also had a great impact on the turnout.

“One thing that we noticed is that following the Supreme Court cases, there was a lot of doubt whether or not the election will be held on the date. This contributed to the low turn out as people had been confused, and failed to re-register,” he said.

Chairperson Moosa said that people were “tired and exhausted” after three elections and “fighting the coup”, noting that this has also led to financial issues within the party.

The road ahead

Ibra described the party’s loss yesterday as a “huge set back for the democracy movement”.

“I think with these results, the constitution which protects minority rights and fundamental liberties will be suspended. It will be put on the shelf.”

“With tyranny of the judiciary combined with the tyranny of the majority, we will see the right to dissent, the right to exercise people’s will, the right live freely will be curtailed to that extent [where the constitution will be as good as suspended].”

Ibra noted, however, that no democratic efforts were ever wasted, while Moosa remained adamant that the MDP would not let democracy fail in the Maldives.

“We will not let that happen. We will protect democracy, hold the government accountable and ensure the independence of the judiciary. We can do all this, and we will.”

“We started this [fight for democracy] under an authoritarian government with the support of the people. We brought down that government with an election, we forced them to bring a democratic government, we have grown in numbers since then. We fought the coup and got an election even with several attempts to deny it,” said Moosa.

Both Ibra and Ibu felt that it is time for MDP to sit down and discuss how to proceed in the future.

“The MDP has to sit down and reevaluate their strategies and decide if the strategy used in the past five or six years has worked or not. We need to have a very honest look at the situation and reevaluate. But this task will be made harder considering the environment we have to restrategise in. It is a difficult and more opressive environment,” Ibra said.

With calls for party reform being heard, party chair Moosa said any changes will be brought in through democratic means.

“If it is necessary, we will reform MDP. The party will function as the members want it to, we will never allow family rule,” he said.

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Man dies in motorcycle accident in Dhuvaafaru

A 21 year old man has died in an accident in the island of Dhuvaafaru in Raa Atoll on Saturday afternoon.

The man passed away at around 10.30pm on Saturday while he was receiving treatment in the island’s health centre for injuries sustained when falling off his motorcycle.

Police stated that they had gotten reports of the accident at 10:15pm and were preparing to assist the man’s transfer from Dhuvaafaru Health Centre to the regional hospital in Ungoofaaru when he passed away.

Police are further investigating the matter. The identity of the victim has not been revealed as of yet.

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Beautiful Eyes Association marks World Down Syndrome Day

Marking the World Down Syndrome Day on Thursday, March 20, Beautiful Eyes Down Syndrome Association of the Maldives held a march around capital city Malé, titled a ‘buddy walk’.

Minivan News observed close to a thousand participants in the march, including representatives from various organisations, private businesses, a number of schools, as well as families and friends of children with down syndrome.

The majority of marchers were sporting special tee shirts sold as a fund raising initiative by the Beautiful Eyes association. A large number of participants were also wearing mismatched socks – a symbol internationally used to mark the day.

The march stopped at five locations on main roads where participating children performed various items. Two of these items were presented by children with down syndrome.

Organisers from the Beautiful Eyes Association noted high public participation in the event, stating that it was a fund raising event in order to support its Therapy Centre – the only one of its kind in the Maldives which is run exclusively to provide therapy for children with Down Syndrome.

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Majlis elections: “Maldivians have said yes to President Yameen’s strong leadership” – Foreign Minister

Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon has described the Progressive Coalition’s victory in the Majlis elections as vote of confidence in President Abdulla Yameen as well as a signal to foreign powers to stay out of the country’s affairs.

“Maldivians have said yes to President Yameen’s strong leadership,” said Dunya.

She also interpreted the coalition victory as a sign of voters’ faith in the leadership of her father, former President and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – President Yameen’s half-brother.

Fellow cabinet member, Tourism Minsiter Ahmed Adeeb, reiterated Dunya’s comments during a press conference held today, adding that opposition MPs would now be unable to further “obstruct” the government’s efforts.

“This shows that the ideology of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the policies of President Abdulla Yameen has the full support of the people as well as the extent of support for [Progressive Coalition partners] Honourable Gasim Ibrahim and Honourable Ahmed Siyam Mohamed,” said Adeeb.

Dunya’s press statement came as the results of the elections to the 18th People’s Majlis are being finalised. Preliminary reports suggest a clear victory for the PPM and its allies – the Elections Commission is expected to announce the preliminary results in the coming hours.

“I wish to congratulate the people of Maldives for their belief in the value of democracy. The world should not underestimate the perseverance of Maldivians. I also wish to congratulate the Elections Commission for holding the elections in an efficient, free, fair, and transparent manner,” she stated.

Dunya served as the State Minister for Foreign Affairs under former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, and was a key figure in defending the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s cabinet in the international community following former President Nasheed’s allegations of coup d’état following his February 2012 exit from power.

Dunya further said “yes to the Government’s foreign policy that is aimed at building national resilience of the Maldives; and yes to the Government’s firm stand of helping Maldivians to shape their own destiny.”

“The Elections also shows that Maldivians have said a resounding ‘NO’ to the efforts of some to invite foreign interference in domestic politics through a number of statements issued telling Maldivians how to organise our own affairs”.

The foreign minister’s praise of the Maldivian people – whom she stated have shown “tremendous determination” to resist attempts to cause “internal disharmony by inviting international pressure” – echoed statements issued earlier this month.

On March 3 – after the European Union and civil society groups had voiced concern over the actions of the Supreme Court – Dunya requested that international communities refrain from comment which “undermine” the Maldivian judicial system.

International concern at that time had come in response to court’s pursuit of contempt of court charges against the Elections Commission (EC) over comments made in a privileged parliamentary committee regarding the annulment of last year’s presidential election first round.

The Supreme Court accused the EC of contempt, claiming it had criticised the verdict which had annulled the first round of presidential elections held in September 2013, as well as disobeying a Supreme Court order by dissolving eight political parties last month.

The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the senior members of the Elections Commission just weeks before the parliamentary elections – a decision roundly condemned by the international community.

“We request our international partners to support us. We request you to contribute constructively in overcoming our challenges. We urge you not to undermine our judicial system,” said Dunya during the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

“We call on all to respect our institutions, young though they may be. And we urge you to base your partnership with us on dialogue and cooperation, not on judgment and retribution,” she added.

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Majlis elections: “Money politics threatens to hijack democratic process”, says Transparency Maldives

Yesterday’s parliamentary elections were well-administered and transparent “but wider issues of money politics threatens to hijack [the] democratic process,” NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) has said in its preliminary statement on the Majlis polls.

TM revealed that a survey conducted prior to last year’s presidential election showed that 15 percent of respondents had been offered “money or other incentives” in exchange for their vote.

“Admissions about illegal activities such as this are usually underreported in surveys. TM’s long-term observation indicates that vote buying may be even more widespread in the parliamentary elections than other elections,” the statement read.

“Inability of state institutions to prosecute vote buying due to gaps in the electoral legal framework, lack of coordination, and buck-passing between the relevant institutions have allowed rampant vote buying to go unchecked.”

The NGO recommended that vote buying should be monitored, investigated and prosecuted “through implementation of the existing legal provisions” in addition to parliament considering “urgent reforms to the laws to better address the issue.”

While voting was ongoing yesterday, police arrested an individual near a polling station for allegedly distributing cash.

Police also revealed two days before the polls that it was increasingly receiving reports of vote buying.

Cash and gifts were allegedly being handed out on behalf of candidates for parliament, police said.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference today, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb – deputy leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives – categorically denied allegations that candidates representing the Progressive Coalition bought votes.

Coalition supporters have submitted complaints “with photo and video as proof” to the Elections Commission (EC) about the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party distributing cash for votes, Adeeb alleged.

Campaign finance reform

TM also noted a lack of transparency in political and campaign financing ahead of elections, which was exacerbated by “deep flaws in the standards, practices and poor oversight”.

“When political parties and individual candidates do not fully disclose where they get their money from, it is not clear who funds them, what their potential conflict of interests are, and, thereby allows vested interests to override public interest when elected as MPs,” TM observed.

It added that Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer surveys for the Maldives “continue to indicate a crisis of public trust in the parliament.”

“Increasing campaign financing transparency in parliamentary elections is crucial to hold parliamentarians to account, in order to prevent the hijack of the institution by vested interests and regain public trust in the parliament,” the statement read.

In addition to identifying and addressing “the gaps in the electoral legal framework,” the NGO recommended “implementation of existing provisions to facilitate public scrutiny, ensure periodic reporting and an effective oversight mechanism for political finance.”

Among other issues that the NGO highlighted included the abuse of state resources “by successive regimes,” which allows campaigning on public funds, and lack of effective longterm voter and civic education.

TM also noted “uncertainties arising from the role of the judiciary in elections,” suggesting that the 16-point guideline imposed on the EC by the Supreme Court last year did not “improve upon the technical aspects of the election”.

Polling

TM observed that yesterday’s polls were peaceful, transparent and generally well-administered “with just one reported incident of violence inside a polling station.”

Among the NGO’s key findings from its observation of the voting process, TM noted that 83.52 percent of polling stations closed within the first hour of the normal closing time of 4:00pm and that the eligible voter registry was “overall very clean, with a very few cases where people were not able to vote because their names were not on the voter registry or their details did not match.”

Candidates from the opposition MDP were represented at 89.4 percent of polling stations and coalition parties at 88.8 percent, the statement noted.

“Unresolved disputes were reported at only 5.3 percent ballot boxes at the time of announcing results,” it added.

TM noted that voting was temporarily halted in 2.4 percent of polling stations, of which 75 percent were “interventions at the direction of the Presiding Officer while 25 percent were interventions by an unruly voter.”

“We note that the police entered 12.35 percent of polling stations. However, in 100 percent of such cases, interventions occurred at the invitation of the Presiding Officer as the rules allow.”

Meanwhile, according to the EC, a total of 115 complaints were submitted in writing to the national complaints bureau, including 18 concerning the voter registry and 33 complaints regarding negative campaigning, behaviour of election officials, and campaigning during polling hours.

In addition, 59 complaints were made via telephone, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik revealed at a press conference last night.

Manik explained that the complaints would be addressed before preliminary results are announced today.

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Comment: Need to involve the public in Police Planning Process

Devyani Srivastava is a programme officer, focusing on police reforms and access to justice within the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) – an international, non-government organisation working towards greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice sector.

Active in the Maldives since 2008, the CHRI seeks to realise increased demand for democratic policing through technical assistance in drafting police-related laws and policies, regularly publishing reports, intervening in court when necessary, and conducting trainings of police personnel across ranks.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) recently launched its five-year Strategic Plan for 2014-2018. The document, available on the police website, lays down the police service’s key goals and priorities in how it seeks to police crime and the country over the next five years.

The MPS is a pioneer in South Asia in strategic planning, a process that enables police organisations to shape a vision for policing, identify precise goals and targets against the vision, and put in place a system to evaluate implementation and performance against the set goals. Most strategic planning frameworks centre on the drafting of a Strategic Plan which serves as a roadmap outlining policing goals and targets within a given time period, usually three to five years. This is the approach adopted by the MPS.

MPS’s current plan is its third in a short span of ten years since its separation from the military in 2004. This shows the leadership recognises the importance of strategic planning in bolstering police service delivery, organisational efficiency and police accountability. The process itself has improved since the first plan came out in 2007. From reading like a vision document with a wish-list of projects, the plans have become more targeted and contextual.

The process has also become more consultative. The current plan was formulated following a 3-day workshop involving 85 staff including department heads, managerial staff, and executive staff officers deliberating over crime trends and strategic priorities. In a further improvement, the department recently put out an evaluation of its performance in 2012 against targets laid down in the previous Strategic Plan 2011-2013 (also available on their website), and promises to prepare annual business plans and performance reviews for the current plan.

While these are steps in the right direction, much more needs to be done to make the planning process more inclusive, open and transparent. The most significant missing link in the planning process is consultation of the public. This must be integrated into future planning as a matter of priority.

Decentralise further

First, the planning process should be decentralised further within the organisation. So far, the exercise involves seeking inputs from department heads, managerial staff, and divisional commanders. Junior ranks and staff at the police stations are not involved in any meaningful way, when they are the ones who have a daily interface with local communities, are the first point of contact in case of any trouble, and are directly answerable to the people when something goes wrong.

Their input regarding levels of crimes, difficulties on the ground, and allocation of resources needs to be taken into account if police response to crime is to improve, especially given that police stations in Maldives oversee a number of islands, each scattered from the other. Planning must start at the police station level and feed into action plans at the divisional level, which then filter into the national-level plan.

Just as the MPS assess itself as an organisation on the basis of its strategic plan, the performance of divisional units should be evaluated based on their action plans. This way, both planning and performance evaluation are decentralized and ultimately closer to ground realities.

Bring in public consultation

Second, the process needs to become more open and transparent. Unlike in other jurisdictions where public input and suggestions are actively sought in police planning, the Maldives Police is yet to involve the public in formulating its goals and targets. Information is made available in the public domain only after the Plans are finalised and launched in the media and uploaded on the police website.

A study by my organisation, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, on the implementation of the first Strategic Plan 2007-2011, showed how even other relevant stakeholders including the Police Integrity Commission and civil society organisations were involved only at a later stage when the plan had already been drafted. The public at large was not involved at all. A clear disconnect was visible during our research between the police and other stakeholders over how projects had been prioritised and how crime had been categorised.

The absence of public consultation is a serious limitation of the process. Ultimately, it is the public which is affected by crime and relies on the police for more safety – they must have a say in the police’s planning for better policing and safety. Reaching out to people, especially those living in far flung islands and atolls with varying crime patterns, will improve overall quality of policy-making by identifying practical problems and unintended effects.

Relying solely on police officers’ feedback serving in the islands excludes public feedback, especially of vulnerable communities, which is critical to improving policing. Communities will also become more informed of the kinds of arrangements and measures being put in place to address their issues and understand better how they themselves can contribute to the success of these measures.

A range of methods such as discussion forums held regularly at the local level; public perception surveys to gauge public confidence in the police; user satisfaction surveys to understand problems in service delivery and identify solutions; focused group discussions for example with the youth, elderly citizens, and women to understand needs and expectations of different segments of society; and social media may be employed to understand community expectations and problems.

It is not easy to carry out inclusive and extensive public consultation. It takes time, organisation, manpower, and intellectual resources. It requires regular and constant flow of information between the police and the public, another reason why local units such as police stations need to be involved more closely. Police must provide accessible feedback on the results of consultation, decisions that have been made and suggestions that were rejected so people consider it a meaningful exercise. But making the investments in this kind of planning process is the best way to build public trust and also get to better policing.

Finally, implementing these steps in a systematic manner, and not leaving it to the discretion of individual officers, is crucial to their success. In fact, many countries (UK, Northern Ireland, Canada) have codified strategic planning into their police laws, thereby making it a statutory requirement, and have developed elaborate rules to guide the process including methods of engagement with the community. Maldives Police must move in this direction in order to enable accountable and responsive policing take roots in the island country and give meaning to the promise of rule of law enshrined in its constitution.

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