Government to accept Nasheed’s nominee to CNI

The government has accepted ousted former President Mohamed Nasheed’s nominee for the Commission on National Inquiry (CNI), according to reports in local media.

The government confirmed its acceptance of Nasheed’s nominee, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, who was formerly both Principal of ‘Ahmadiyya School’ and Deputy Principal of the British College of Sri Lanka.

“The Government made the decision to accept Mr Saeed’s name to demonstrate its seriousness in allowing the CoNI to continue with the inquiry in a genuinely independent and impartial fashion, and to complete the inquiry in a timely manner, as stipulated in the commitment signed with Sir Donald [McKinnon] on 15 May,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan confirmed prior to his departure to the UK this morning that the government had accepted the nominee proposed by Nasheed.

Waheed said that despite “certain reservations”, Nasheed’s latest nominee was “a good person” and that he hoped the CNI would proceed with its duties with the inclusion of the nominee.

The government previously accepted Manaal Shihab, the daughter of former Finance Minister Mohamed Shihab, however Nasheed had reportedly withdrawn his nominee at the time of the announcement and the confusion led to a statement from the Commonwealth that no nominee had yet been approved.

“Nasheed had proposed her name without proper consultation from his party,” Waheed alleged. “That is why we shall not disclose the name of the nominee yet, because something like that may happen again,” he said.

Asked about his reservations, Waheed stated that the latest nominee had “said certain things” regarding the transfer of power of February 7, but that he and the government were looking to proceed without much of an issue out of it.

“We do not intend to reject the name. We want to proceed with the commission,” he said.

Waheed further stated that Nasheed’s proposed name had been forwarded to the Commonwealth, which was expecting the say on the proposal.

Minivan News tried contacting Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed to confirm the appointment, but he did not respond at time of press.

MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor declined to comment on the matter, claiming that it was not the policy of the party to reveal the names to the media until the government officially did so.

Ismail Shafeeu will not be removed from the CNI

While the government appears to have accepted Nasheed’s nominee to the CNI, it has refused to remove CNI Chairman Ismail Shafeeu.

Shafeeu was the former Minister of Defence and National Security under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He was also Minister of Home Affairs during the time when the custodial death of Evan Naseem took place, a key moment in Maldivian political history that led to an uprising against Gayoom and the introduction of multiparty democracy.

Former President Nasheed and the MDP had raised doubts over Shafeeu’s impartiality and his role in the CNI.

Speaking to the press on the occasion to mark 100 days of Waheed’s government after he came to power on February 7, Nasheed said that Shafeeu did not fit the criteria imposed on his own nominee.

He expressed concern that Shafeeu was still on the panel despite an expectation that he would be replaced by the current facilitator of the All Party Talks, Ahmed Mujthaba.

Waheed disputed Nasheed’s assessment of Shafeeu, stating that he would remove Shafeeu as he was “capable and qualified”.

“His integrity and impartiality can be only questioned after close observation of his work at the commission,” said Waheed.

Waheed also reiterated that the government had agreed to revise the commission membership in consultation with the Commonwealth, with the appointment of a retired Singaporean Judge and a representative from former President Nasheed as agreed.

MDP’s Spokesperson Ghafoor has said Shafeeu’s impartiality was not as much of an issue for the MDP following the inclusion of an MDP representative on the panel, adding that the party had compromised during the negotiations.

The appointment of a nominee would be a “good achievement” despite the of barriers and complications set in place by the government to disqualify names proposed by Nasheed, Ghafoor said.

He said that while the Commonwealth had the “moral authority” to impose qualification requirements on the nominees, the government did not, as it was itself the subject under the investigation.

“I just don’t think one can give up the impression that the government is actually helping to resolve the situation here,” he said.

The CNI was established by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to investigate the controversial transfer of power that took place on February 7. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) claimed that Nasheed was forced out of office in a coup d’etat.

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12 thoughts on “Government to accept Nasheed’s nominee to CNI”

  1. Congrats man...

    Keep it up. You are one person I trust.

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  2. I am surprised that Anni proposed Saeed's name. He is a man of principle and i am sure he is not going to budge to Anni's or MDP's pressure.
    Let's hope he will do what Anni wants him to do. lol

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  3. i fear this may not be the right choice that's why Waheed is trumpeting his acceptance.. because he feels he can have some leave with Saeed... I don't think Saeed is fully aware of the reform that took place here in the last ten years no does he have a very good idea of the context of Maldivian politics... also him being a leading educator during Gayoom's regime.. I have come across very insular practices he imposed on students.. a good measure of his success could be the almost non existent numbers of students who went into history or language in the institutions he oversaw including Majeedhiyaa...

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  4. If it does turn out to be Saeed, then we can be confident of the guy's integrity. Saeed is a good guy.

    In fact, my proposal to Saeed is that after finishing his work on this commission, let's form a proper political party; i.e. one with principles and values. We can learn from all the mistakes of old generation of parties, namely, MDP, DRP, PA, PPM, JP etc.

    We definitely need a sea change in the political landscape.

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  5. isn't he too elitist? but i guess we need someone who can be objective not necessary sympathize with the person of ex-president.

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  6. isn't anni from a rich resort owning background, educated in england? an elitist. not to mention many other prominent mdp politicians.

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  7. Mr Saeed should do what his conscience dictates.He is a man with a conscience.

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  8. @jou having money doesnt make a person an elitist. Thinking that you are superior because of your prevelidged background makes u elistist.

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  9. The whole purpose of this committee is to bring out the truth and if Mr. Saeed can tell us the truth we are ok with him, no matter it is against MDP's wishes.

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  10. A good choice by Anni. Very honest, no nonsense guy. Will not be a pushover to the other members on the committee, the government or even for a million dollars.

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  11. Ismsil Shafeeu's integrity and impartiality we already know it! Waheed simply is a mad hatter!
    He is under the influence of Maumoon's black magic!
    Waheed cannot believe Shafeeu is Maumoon's cat, temporarily leased to Waheed to purr at his side!
    Some story for releasing the guilt!

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  12. Gaha Saeed,
    Well, this is a man I studied with, a class mate, a person whome I can call "friend", But I feel sorry for him that he has decided to follow this mad cult leader. God save Mr Saeed

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