This article first appeared on Dhivehi Sitee. Republished with permission.
Saturday dawned as crisp, sunny and beautiful as any other day in the Maldives. The clear blue skies belied the dark cloud that descended over a majority of the country’s population after the beleaguered Elections Commission announced shortly before midnight on Friday that the Supreme Court, and other allied state institutions, had left it with no choice but to call off the second round.
What the Elections Commission has been forced to call off is hope — the expectation that democracy will be restored in the Maldives on 11 November 2013.
For 19 long months, a majority of Maldivians have dedicated most of their lives to winning back democracy from the authoritarian gang that came to power on 7 February 2012. The fight has been all-consuming and has affected every single Maldivian one way or another.
In the immediate aftermath of the coup came the violent confrontations with the security forces. Hundreds were beaten up, arbitrarily arrested, detained without charge, and ordered to obey, or else. Basic human rights—freedom of assembly and expression—were rolled back. Foreign ties were broken coldly, with little care for international norms or the inevitable consequences. The economy suffered blow after blow, leading to bankruptcy with little hope for recovery in the foreseeable future.
Working with unscrupulous ‘religious scholars’, intense nationalism was promoted in parallel with virulent xenophobia against any foreign actor that promoted democracy. Ties with autocratic regimes were fostered, along with relations with international gangsters known for drug trafficking and money laundering. National assets were sold off and deals made with unscrupulous foreign governments that spoke democracy but acted with nothing but their own national interest in mind. Unexplained murders, gang-related crimes, drug abuse and sexual offences increased exponentially.
The international community’s decision to condone the coup and endorse it as ‘a legitimate transfer of power’ was a major blow, but not enough to kill the Maldivian people’s desire for democratic governance. In the face of intense pressure from the international community to obey, to put stability before rights, to follow ‘the democratic process’, combined with brutal force by domestic authorities, the street protests could not be sustained. But supporters of democracy did not give up. Led by Mohamed Nasheed and the Maldivian Democratic Party, Maldivians channeled their frustrated hopes into campaigning for a democratic election instead of protesting on the streets.
MDP’s presidential campaign has been an exemplary democratic exercise – the ‘costed and budgeted’ manifesto it brought out in August this year is the embodiment of a majority of Maldivians’ hopes and dreams for the future. It is based on views and opinions gathered from people on every inhabited island and it envisions a future in which the Maldivian people will, at long last, be empowered to work for their own socio-economic progress under a government that a majority of them have elected of their own free choice. Of course, it is naive to think that every desire would be fulfilled, but at least everyone was asked what they wanted, everyone had a say, and everyone could take ownership of their own future. No such bottom-up exercise has ever been conducted in the long authoritarian history of the Maldives.
On 7 September, 88 percent of the electorate turned out to vote. 45.45 percent of them voted for Mohamed Nasheed, 25.35 percent for Abdulla Yameen, 24.07 percent for Gasim Ibrahim, and 5.13 percent for Mohamed Waheed. Nasheed did not get the 50 percent plus one needed for an outright win, but the Maldivian map, from north to south, was all yellow at the end of voting that day. Most people in all atolls bar two want a democratic government led by Nasheed.
The authoritarians know this, always did. Plan B was there from the start – let them have their vote if they must, but the results will always be ours, as we want it. Over a thousand observers, local and foreign, verified the election as free and fair. Except for minor errors, expected in any election anywhere in the world, it went without a hitch. Only 25 percent of the Maldivian people want Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s autocratic rule to continue. That’s when the stubborn septuagenarian called in all the stops and brought into full play the dregs of dictatorship that continued to infect Maldivian democracy throughout the three years or so it lasted.
Gayoom has played his old house-boy Gasim well. Taking full advantage of Gasim’s indignation about not having received the votes he paid for, Gayoom has dictated most of the Supreme Court bench – the most corrupt of the many corrupt state institutions – to rule in Gasim’s favour, bringing the Maldives to where it is today: a constitutional vacuum into which Gayoom can effortlessly step in and ‘rescue’ us from ourselves. If Gasim thinks that Gayoom will let him take the president’s oath on November 11, he is an even bigger fool than he has repeatedly shown himself to be.
The Supreme Court did not just issue an injunction against the second round, it also ordered the security forces to act against anyone who tries to go ahead with the polls. One can only imagine the elation of the baton-happy coup-Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz who immediately deployed his forces to the Elections Commission, sealing the Commissioner and staff off from interaction with anyone local or foreign.
Efforts for mediation by the international community were not just prevented by the police, but strongly criticised by Gayoom’s minions. With his daughter at the helm of foreign relations as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs, it summoned India’s High Commissioner for a good telling-off for attempting to help disenfranchised Maldivians. The government has not stopped spurning the international community since, and will not stop until it becomes clear to everybody – at long last – that Gayoom and his followers will not allow democracy in the Maldives, whatever it takes.
The truth of the matter is, and has been since 7 February 2012, is that there will be no election in the Maldives as long as Nasheed, the champion of the Maldivian democratic movement, is in the running. So the focus has now returned to the farcical prosecution of Nasheed, through the very courts that have proved again and again that they are neither independent nor respectful of the ‘judicial process’. The machinations are fully underway to annul the first round and put Nasheed behind bars before calling fresh elections, if there are to be any. Reports say Gayoom himself is planning to run if and when new elections are held, his ‘economist’ brother having failed to live up to family expectations by not being able to garner much support.
Having lived under Gayoom for most of their lives, a majority of Maldivians remain oblivious to the fact that indefinitely delaying the elections is a robbery of their fundamental right to vote, and not just that of MDP members or supporters of Nasheed. Their gloating about the cancellation of the election is both sad and sickening. They will do everything in their power to help bring Gayoom, and their own enslavement, back to life.
For the rest of Maldivians, the only choice left is to refuse to obey. Power, contrary to popular belief, is not something that can be taken away by force. It can only be given away, by the people, if we so decide.
Resisting a full-fledged authoritarian reversal has been a long hard slog that has taken a heavy emotional, financial and social toll on all of us. Sustaining the resistance will be difficult, and all out civil disobedience would be even harder; but do it we must, if we are to be in control of our own destiny. What we must keep in mind is: nobody can govern us without our consent. It is within our power not to give it.
Dr Azra Naseem has a PhD in International Relations
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]
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Comment: A method in madness
55% of the population clearly said no Nasheed . So how can you say 45% as a majority of Maldivian ?
Even there are large number of voters who are not entitled to vote had casted their votes with forged IDs.
Given all those rigging, still majority had said no to Nasheed.
So..?! More majority has said NO to Yameen, Gasim and Waheed!!!
Nasheed started this mess by arresting the Judge. Nasheed got carried away being a global eco warrior and arogantly ignored his home politics. Once you tamper with the judiciary system, a country goes down.
the majority of the vote you idiot !
@facts.
Keep going brother. Every time you write, you show people how much of an idiot you are.
Loving your posts!
Facts my friend, right now there's at least 90% of the world saying you are a f***n idiot! The remaining ten per cent vote for Yamin.
It is really sad that Minivan news only brings one side of the story, we all know that Minivan is registered and owned by brother of former President Nasheed and foreign journalists here are paid by MDP and its elites.
But as professional journalists you are supposed to reveal the truth without any bias.
I know that this comment is a waste, but at least think once and write both sides of the story, responsible journalism is what lacks in our country.
The country is so polarized that today we feel that we have no Nationality, MDPians, PPMians, JPians, Mullahnians and not a single MALDIVIAN 🙁
If it were up to me, I would install an electrocute button in your keyboards. Your fanaticism is too good to be restrained.
Sounds more brainless from Dr. Azra than 'vote less'
All your stories follow the same formula. Gayomm the 30 year old bully did this and that to small boy MDP.. nahahah..aaaahh.hah.
Everyone (including all potential tourists) knows that and HAD been aware of that for the last 30 years... get it.
Why not suggest a smart strategy with that BOLDLY marked 'PhD in International Relations' written at the end of each rant.
On the serious side, look at how the 'evil' guys strategize. They have labeled Nasheed as Laadheenee, by defining the mening of the world by an unknow sheikh. See the tactics.
You are up against an evil genius - better come up with something smart rather than report sob stories..
You need to do your PhD again..
PhD in 'international relations' i.e. Not even a real PhD
@ Ann, reality always has a liberal bias. Sad but true for you, PPM, Republicans in the U.S., religious fundamentalists around the world, etc.
Azra does a wonderful job as a propagandist but repeatedly writing with open bias has reduced her to a mere mouthpiece.
Yet she is right. What we are witnessing is a reversal of a project that envisioned transforming Maldives into a Western-style democracy.
The vote was clear however, the interim government led by President Waheed was unpopular and the people felt strongly against it. Enough time passed between the power transfer for the electorate to forget the strong dislike for the Nasheed-regime before 7 Feb 2012.
The problem actually lies in the Maldivian public's disillusionment with the system of governance displayed between 2008 and now. Here is a list of woes that I think will influence the vote in the days to come;
- Coalition government: the sad thing is the electorate has consistently failed to elect one party to head the most-coveted institution in the triad. However coalition governments have failed to garner support because of inherent failings within the system that lead to a lack of coordination and political consensus.
- Abrasive politics within Parliament - while this is the most entertaining sideshow available in Maldivian politics the people have grown fed up with the schoolyard antics and open corruption within the institution.
- Politicization of the apex court and low public awareness about real reforms within the judiciary - add in the widely circulated videos of a Supreme Court Justice engaging in less than savory activities and voila we have yet another institution that commands very little respect among the people.
- Weak independent institutions characterized by lackluster political appointees who have proven themselves unable to foster public awareness about their work or their usefulness.
In short the public who has been raised on a healthy diet of autocratic government with a central focus on the figure of the President are very much still steeped in that culture. Elections are replete with promises from candidates to become more and more authoritarian promising revenge against the opposition and more welfare without considering the need for legislation to introduce welfare programs or the role of the judiciary in between.
In reality it is not 45 or 25%, almost 100% voted for authoritarian government with the majority trusting in the opposition to deliver more vengeance, less democracy and more entertainment.
Do note however that I still support the need for elections. However some controls in the form of an electoral college or rather a move towards a Parliamentary system with a upper House would be more desirable and would ensure a more stable transition to democracy.
@YO.
Same goes to you and people know who stupid you are and your cult and cult followers are too.
Here are the facts of the matter:
(1) Gasim shouted at the top of his voice that he should have won the first round outright. That requires 40,000 extra votes for him.
(2) DO NOT try to change the story now. Gasim claimed that 40,000 votes were fake and fraud on a world record level had taken place.
(3) Why has the Supreme Farce taken weeks to deliberate on such a glaringly obvious case of large scale fraud? Surely, the decision to annul under those circumstance would be a no brainer.
(4) The Maldivian Supreme Farce has no right or authority to rule on anything, constitutional or otherwise. Why? Ali Hameed, that's it. You cannot have your cake and eat it too!
(5) IF the first round is annulled and IF either Gasim or Yameen is through the rescheduled first round, then there will be anarchy on the streets. Unwittingly (or rather the dim wittedness of Gasim and his chums) the pandora's box has been opened.
What 'facts' (I'll use his nickname as a joke from now on) doesnt know or is being paid to hush up is that Anni got a majority from almost all atolls in Maldives.
I see the enemy has learned a new word. 'cult'. How cute.
Finally, I would advise the illegitimate coup regime and their mouthpieces to disband and surrender. What'll it be? A stay in prison - and eventual parole, or summary execution?
..." It is within our power not to give it... (Power)
Powerful words... I believe it...
Nasheed and his gangs are the people who need to be executed first .
@Facts:
It is a fact that Nasheed and the MDP managed to secure a majority in almost all atolls of the country except two.
Also they secured almost double the votes that the nearest contender got.
A runoff should decide the eventual winner. However a runoff would not be possible if the intentions and behavior of the average voter mirrors that of you and Maldivian Man.
Both of you blindly support your group and despise your opponents with a hatred that has no place in democratic society. If we speak of summary executions and arbitrary detentions as vengeance for political wrongs then none of us are actually interested in democracy.
I also believe that elections are not the true solution if the elected party plans to exact vengeance by abusing the powers of the State. We all need to agree on fundamental aspects of democracy where elections must be respected and the political opposition must be allowed room to operate.
@Facts, of the 4 Candidates an overwhelming majority said yes to Nasheed which I thinks gets him the least yes. Also note that no one is saying NO to anyone. From the given Candidates, they chose their first choice. When you take 55% neither me nor you can say that 30% of them would vote for Yameen or Nasheed.
Not only Gasim, but Hassan Saeed managed to mention the dreaded 40,000 figure in court. Those who are alleging fraud have not been able to identify a single box where the 40,000 ballots were stuffed in.
Fuad Thowfeeq is man of miracles as he seems to have stuffed 40,000 votes right under the noses of representatives of all the Candidates, or it could have been the work of all those "sihuru" coconuts!