President Mohamed Nasheed has hinted that he is prepared to hold mid-term elections – a promise he made prior to being elected – if the opposition agreed to amend the constitution and re-elect the parliament.
”Elections have been very friendly to me in my life,” Nasheed said, speaking at an MDP rally last night. ”I am ready to face any elections should they be needed.”
However, Nasheed demanded that the opposition agree to amend the constitution and re-elect parliament.
”Although the tax bill to increase the government’s revenue has not been passed, [we] will fulfill the pledges,” said Nasheed, noting that six projects were scheduled to commence in Male’.
Nasheed has recently claimed that laws passed by the parliament were making it difficult for a presidential system to function effectively.
“In my view, the essence of this is connected to the form of the constitution,” he said, adding that the “teething issues” related to implementing the constitution must be resolved.
“One way is for all political parties to agree to amend the constitution to change to a parliamentary system,” he suggested, adding that he was ready to face any election in this event.
As the existing constitution allows parliament to block executive functions, said Nasheed, the government could neither ensure economic development nor provide basic services effectively.
“If opposition political parties do not believe [changing to a parliamentary system] is best, the second way is for us to perfect the presidential system,” he said.
“Either perfecting the presidential system, or changing to a parliamentary system [is the choice],” he said.
Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom said that the president had promised the people he would hold mid-term elections, “and he has no other choice.”
”That was an unconditional statement he made before the last [presidential] elections,” said Mausoom. ”He has to do it without applying any conditions.”
Mausoom claimed that today, people of the Maldives did not have trust in the president.
”I will say we should wait and see. He is repeating an earlier statement he made, it means there is a possibility that he might do it,” Mausoom added.
The government and the opposition parties are currently holding closed-door discussions, ostentatiously to try and resolve the current political deadlock.
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Whatever constitution, liberty has to first be in people'e hearts before it can exist in a nation.
Nasheed is a congenial lair. He also said he would never run for president.
Amend the constitution and he would walkaway from his promise.
Last night at MDP Harugey he said he would build 4000 flats in Male'before next year July--a tentative date for election according to him. Maybe he recovered Aladdin's magic lamp.
Roll up! Roll up! Cash for votes time again. Your members have millions. Make them pay real price for your votes. Sell to highest bidder! No bulk family deals. No discounts! Once in five year opportunity.
Changing the Constitution is not the solution.How much ever you try it will not work. We all know the problems and the barriers of progress for the average man of this nation. Why not those barriers be lifted first. I believe this is pure "politics" in the wrong direction again.
Elections, changing constitution, changing rhetoric will not solve anything but it will lead this nation to chaos.
" Any uncontrolled situation will result in chaos and disorder..."
Instead....
"AMEND THE ATTITUDES OF ALL POLITICIANS"
...AND THAT HAS TO BE DONE BY THE PEOPLE BY MAKING IT CLEAR TO THEM THAT " ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" WE ONLY TRUST ALLAH, AND YOU ARE CHOSEN AS OUR LEADERS TO DO A JOB. DO IT PROPERLY OR GET FIRED... 😉
by the way... I believe Mr.President knows that very well. 😉
I doubt the "parliamentarians" would even consider these as solutions...
presidential system we vote before so why again we have to vote for. this is a waste of money. i dont know what opposition parties and president wants why need to waste maldivian people money on this again, oh god these people are mad of power, and our money is wasted with these fools
Mr President, its not you, your party or the opposition to decide. First you have to go for a public referendum. I wonder if HEP is getting ready for another infamouse stunt drama......
Those who live in North America might think the late night shows by David Latermann, Jaye Leno, Stephen Colbert and John Stewart may be the biggest political reality shows. But whet we see in Maldives is far ahead of those shows, as President Nasheed has more avenues for his shows, morning at news conference in the President Office, evening at MDP Haruge, Friday morning at radio Maldives.Every day we are getting new episodes inconsistent dramas. I wonder he should hire some good writers for this darama. Atleast Copy Muhammad Rasheed seems to be one of them. He has published a book also about former President dictator Ibramim Nasir also now.
anni has become such a joker. i regret my vote.
Anni is making excuses not to hold elections because he knows he will lose it this time. He didn't even win last time. He came to power because of a coalition. So Anni, get ready to be kicked out by the same people who gave you the presidency seat. They don't have to listen to your demands of changing the constitution. They can send you back to the dirty socks from where you came from. Stay in your limits if you want to survive. You have failed.
A wolf is still a wolf even if it wears sheep’s clothing. We have the leaders of the former government now in parliament blocking the present government from delivering its pledges to the people. We have the judiciary, chosen by the former regime making a joke of rule of law, and undermining the government’s attempts to deliver justice to the people.
We seem to have forgotten that these are the people who brought our country to bankruptcy, and obstructed democracy and the formation of political parties in our country. We seem to have forgotten that we voted their leader Gayoom out in the last Presidential election because we wanted change. We seem to have forgotten that what we have, after "the change" is same old same old, what changed was the packaging.
The bees and the butterflies in the garden of peace and prosperity was a nice idea but as has been seen in the last 18 months we have not been able to create the garden of peace and prosperity that President spoken with so much passion at his inauguration. What we see is a nation robbed, and stripped of our dignity, integrity and future. What we see are the flies and vultures instead of the bees and butterflies.
A new election is not going to bring any change. The people who bought their way into parliament will do so again, with the money they robbed from the very people they claim they stand for. Just as they found a way to manipulate the constitution now, they will do so again.
The way out of the deadlock as I see it, is to hold the people who brought so much suffering to our people accountable. We have not heard one case about the damning reports of the Auditor General nor have we heard from the Anti- Corruption Commission what they have done with these reports. If justice cannot be addressed by the Judiciary or by the Anti Corruption Commission we need to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Council where our people will be heard and have the opportunity to complete the past.
History has shown when people do not get the opportunity to do this they will form their own structures to do so. We are delusional if we don’t believe it is already happening with us. The Peoples Court recently set up is such a structure. More seriously is the possibility that our people sick to our guts of the corruption and the moral bankruptcy of the rich and powerful in the country will turn to the clerics for leadership. A swing to the extreme right in our people is already quietly happening, well orchestrated by the Adhalath Party. If the players creating the deadlock we have today and the international community cannot see this reality they are more out of touch with our people than I thought they were.
We cannot create a future without completing the past. We need to lay the foundation of integrity if we are to have unity. Kachah elhey bingaleh kechaai hamaya dhiya yas hunaanee kachah.
@ Ekaloa
I too find all this hilarious?
Its like a fairy tale with no substance!
Mr Yasir, if I remember correctly, NO ONE has a clear majority in the first round of elections last time! And it went to a second round.
If a similar situation arises this time, it will be very interesting to see the results, since Nasheed's former partners Gasim and Saeed are now on the other side. Nevertheless I very much doubt that Gasim and Saeed's support will count for much in a general election.
Like someone else has already said, no amount of Constitution amendment is going to help us. It's like trying to avert another financial crisis; a clear impossibility.
As Isaac Newton said, we can predict the behaviour of the planets and the heavens, but not the madness of men!
Anni, what is a disgrace you have become - never has a politician has become a joker in his own country while enjoying (hoax eco-warrior) adulation abroad - (we all know the Maldives isn't disappearing, if at all it is rising according to recent scientific evidence).
Anni did not make any unconditional promises to hold mid-term elections. He only promised it to his allies of the time and DRP them claimed it was even illegal to say that. What a load of hypocrite to now say Anni has to do that.
A promise to a friend falls to void as soon as the friend becomes an enemy. Anni do not owe anything to anybody as far as his presidency goes.
Ekaloa: lol! did you miss Bill Maher?
i told my wife ill be home for lunch, but i got busy and couldnt. So drp calls me a liar. What is wrong with you people. Mid term election is political rhetoric. Politics is full of it. I got used to it after 30 years.
All opposition members in parliment are obstructing everything anni is trying to do. Anni is a true maldivian who is trying to serve the country. I voted for anni he took the oath for a full term in office. Having mid term elections and appointing another president is breaking the oath and would be i lie too. Except drp would not call this a lie.
Drp has had 30 years in power to do something. But what have they done? Pushed the masses in poverty and made close circle of people extremely rich. Even when out of power thats what they are trying to do.
Anni has been in power for only two years. It takes time to get things done. Let the president do his job.
undoubtedly our president is suffering from dementia and he should get treatment without delay.
agree with the very first comment here by @liberty.
it is not the best thing to spend millions of state fund to elect again another f**king politician to do the same sh*t.
if people wants trouble and power, there will always be venues and loopholes on constitution, no matter how you make it.
"Amend constitution and re-elect parliament, and I may hold elections: President Nasheed"
Dear President, the work you have asked to do will take about 2 or 3 years to get completed. But even without this work we will be having an election in 3 years. So why bother?
Mid term elections were promised so lets hold them quickly. The country can afford another year of campaigning because the politicians will pump in enough cash to keep the people alive. Government will return to power with an absolute majority in parliament and we can bury the opposition after that.
Government cannot function unless the executive and the legislature are controlled by MDP. Too bad we cannot control the judiciary. We should pass a law to invalidate all the appointments that are being made and revamp the judiciary when we get the majority in parliament.
Minivan - please replace my last comment with this one. Couple of corrections.
I too believe that President Nasheed will come through if we have an election. Any thinking person can see that his government has begun delivering – despite the blunders, the political rhetoric, the still irresponsible hardcore elements in MDP, the economic disaster left behind by the previous government and the unrelenting and sometimes nasty opposition. Which means that the opposition is much less ready than President Nasheed to face the public. They may unite to oppose but, just like the opposition to Gayoom they are a fragmented force, and really have nothing to show the people as yet. DRP/PA who ran as a coalition for the the last presidential election, for all the professionals within them, scored largely on a religious platform. Nothing much new or of substance has come out of any of these opposition parties since then, possibly because quite a few within them (not everyone) were too busy getting annoyed that ‘that irritating Anni’ had become president and kept following every syllable that came out of his (often runaway) mouth or looking for ways to get rid of him and his ‘incapable’ team, or hold them to account.
Having said that, I agree with what Khadeeja has said above. I hope the current inter-party talks succeed and that we can move forward productively, but with the way the future of our judiciary is being determined at present, hope for an efficiently functioning and just judiciary in the foreseeable future seems almost non-existent at this point. In which case, and if the two big parties are unable to bring about a good resolution during the talks, human nature dictates that other forms of ‘justice’ will be sought.
The PROBLEM with Anni?
Larger than life!
Even a fool would not trust Nasheed again.
the public voted and elected president Nasheed for a five year term so why not be patient,its not even two years.people had suffered for 30 years.
We need an effective "Opposition" who are loyal to the nation. Not those who are boiling in rage, those who are after their own ego to get back total power and control and suffering from hypocrisy, corruption and mental disorders.
This is what the people asked for in the last parliamentary election, and that's what the people are getting. I wonder why we are even complaining. But still we have to and at the same time we have to correct ourselves first. Individual thinking and manner of honoring our responsibilities towards the nation has to be reviewed. ... "Are we looking for an "easy buck" or the prosperity of this nation as a whole? "
The President was elected for 5 years and the "opposition" need not go after a campaign rhetoric if they are really truthful. They have to be on the watch and give time for a young government to perform before they do anything. Surely that will not happen with the current "opposition" parties because of their false ideology. All political stunts of the "Oppositions" are nothing but for full power grab and then taking this nation back to "BLUE FOREVER MISSION".
The party having executive power needs to show that they aren't just "yellow" but truly "GREEN RED WHITE" as one color. They are there for the people and to all people of this nation.
A PARTY JUST FOR PEOPLE?
Why not all those who love this nation form a party? Not a NGO- it has to have all the characteristics of a "Political Party" except that they will not in anyway work to get into power at all but always be a "whistle blower" on wrong actions from any of the institutions of the state. This is a basic idea but we need to develop a foolproof action plan and get all information that we need to formulate such a party and a mandate for them.This could be the only practical solution for the future of this Country.
Such a party will change the whole political dynamics of this nation. It will be unique in every sense. For such a party, financing will be the biggest obstacle yet we can have solutions for that as well. For e.g Funding will only be through individual contributions apart from what is allocated by the state budget and no funding from any special interests groups will be accepted. From day 1 there has to be independent Auditors appointed and all the financial income and expenses will have to be updated on the website daily.
And the party will have no political affiliations openly or discreetly with any other party.
We are in need to "get out of the box" in our way of thinking and solving the problems. Some may say "What's so unique in this?" or "What if? and that? and this?" That's exactly why some honest and truthful people need to get together and form a foolproof plan on this idea. I have given the main idea as "not working for any political positions but as a whistle blower for the sake of all people of this nation"
Let's deeply think about it....With GOD's will,there's nothing impossible if we truly want and work for it. GOD almighty will show us right directions if we are truthful and honest to ourselves and others. That is the starting point and the ending point for this whole idea.
In Almighty GOD we trust. May GOD bless us and guide us.
What we need is common sense to prevail. Full Stop!
hameed, people like you are the wet blankets of these islands, lost in worshiping a cult that has removed your power to use your own f.....g gray matter.
Just shut up people. Let Universal and Champa's decide who should be the next leader. Without their patronage everybody will fail. Be with them you have a smooth ride. They have the dough guys.
I'd get rid of the opposition if I were him.
I don't take kindly to those who will stop me from carrying out my promises, you see.
The DRP lapdogs should be pleased and thankful with their lot that the President hasn't pushed the "War" button on them yet.
@Bismuth
"The party having executive power needs to show that they aren’t just “yellow” but truly “GREEN RED WHITE” as one color."
I don't think Anni will ever be able to portray those national colours except full YELLOW.
Remember his famous "nulafaakan dhakka" PARTISAN speech in one of the islands? I think he is only for the colour YELLOW and he did declare it openly even after becoming president!
@Bismuth
A system of parties, of whatever colour is not going to transform this land. We have adopted a wrong model and we face the consequences of that.
We just don't have enough centre of gravity anywhere in the country, to support a party system. If you look at the rest of the world; political parties always behave this way. They want to get rid of the incumbent and take over. Call it tribal, herd, chimpanzee, orangutang etc mentality. A benevolent party for the people isn't going to materialise; it has not materialised ANYWHERE in the world!
We need a different model. A collective governance model perhaps. As a country we are small enough for a collective model. Something along the lines of what the Swiss have; but heavily adapted to our culture and traditions. Even a Romanesque Council perhaps, who continually rotate without vested power in any single hand, group, commission or body.
We thought we setup a checks and balances system; however we forgot that someone filled the whole thing with fake currency behind our backs! Checking and balancing forgeries is meaningless!
Now where are those guys who wanted an early election. The so called filthy mouthed thug MP's of DRP must come out now and say Yes we are ready. Well ..You wouldn't dare. You are losers and big talkers. Dr. Hassan ..you ready???
hey guys, this website they put only positive comments to govt.
this is the another game, Anni wants to show the people. He is demanding to re-elect parliment first, coz he did not get majority. if he got majority he will never hold presidental election again. he will ask parliment to pass bill regarding 'no re-elect for president'. Anyway this man wants to get parliment majority. He must do mid term election without demanding anything. this is what he promised.
@MDP
"if he got majority he will never hold presidental election again".
I don't you've understood this whole business of democracy and a functioning government.
In a parliamentary system, the party or parties with a majority form a government and by definition that gives them a majority in Parliament.
In a Presidential system, there should be very clear separation of the powers of the Executive and other bodies; and not encroach on each other as we're doing now.
So, in summary, the President is very courageous to announce that he's ready to face the public IF we are willing to address the shortcomings of our current system. Our current system, no matter which party is in power, will never work for the benefit of the county and its people.
Amend constitution and re-elect parliament, and I may hold elections: President Nasheed
what does "I MAY HOLD" REFERS.... just liek saying "IF" .... anni is gone mad
For a moment I thought that Mr. President was sane and of high calibre. But now I am more than convinced that his guy has gone nuts. He his a crazy guy and he doesn't know what he is talking about.
Well Mr.President, Remember you can fool with us and cheat us and take us for a ride. But we will come back and still go about with our business. But next time it's gonna be WITHOUT YOU.
You can sit at home and ponder over your famous, "I am not a lawyer," quotation.
@heck on Sat, 31st Jul 2010 12:38 AM
You have a point there and that is the message we need to deliver to Mr.President continuously without fail.
"Be the President of all people. Not just MDP"
I want to believe that some people can change through the passage of time. Lets give him time and a breathing gap.The opposition is portraying this President as a "Dictator", while I do not believe that for even a single second.
Facts are clear.They want to play the role of MDP and Anni who fought to bring a real "Dictator Style" 30 years of power addicted regime to their knees and there they are.All the remnants of previous regime easily operating with in the system of government and playing "Mafia style" games. Thanks to few who sold their votes for just few "easy bucks".
Reality is:This is a new government after "30 Looooong Years", and we all need to realize that they need at least five years before we can decide if they did right or wrong. Can't we show some respect and patience,now that we have being freed from our mental slavery of 30 years(of brainwashing and intimidation),with GOD's will and blessing.
@Ahmed on Sat, 31st Jul 2010 2:26 AM
You mean to say a "Parliamentary System"?
I guess that might work now, but it all needs time and I believe we need to do something sooner through the system that is in practice. 🙂
Nothing we do will be perfect without trust and honesty.
@jameela
"But we will come back and still go about with our business."
Must be a Jangiya Nazim fan. Good luck. Hope you have somewhere to run when we come after you.
The problem with Anni is crystal clear - its a family inherited sickness, thirsty for power. History proves they will even resort to violence to achieve their political goals. Now we already see the symptoms .. Regular MDP organized rallies, vandalism , intimidations ..... Etc.
Minivan news articles are getting very low in good content, may be the news is becoming part of the gossip system, that is attacking all the news medias, I personally would like to see better quality reporting from minivan news