Category: Politics

Q&A: MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed – Nolhivaram constituency

In a series of interviews to lead into the the 2014 parliamentary elections – scheduled for March 22nd – Minivan News will be conducting interviews with incumbent MPs.

All 77 sitting members have been contacted, from across the political spectrum, to be asked a standardised set of questions with additional topicals. The interviews will be published as and when they are received.

Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed represents the Nolhivaram constituency and is currently interim leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

Daniel Bosley: What made you enter the political arena and how?

Mohamed Nasheed: During the 2004 reform movement, I was actually a columnist in Minivan Daily and that column was very popular among the readers – I was writing a political column called ‘shoot’, [which means] something like new beginning. When there was a vacancy in the the People’s Special Majlis – when Mr Ibra Ismail resigned – to go to the parliament, I was asked to run in the by-election. That was in late 2004, early 2005.

DB: Based on your attendance and work in this ending term, how would you judge your performance as an MP?

MN: I have almost one hundred percent attendance and I’m happy with what we have achieved in this parliament because, despite this is a hung parliament, and politically divided, and even though we are sitting with MPs who are not qualified to do some sort of legislatures we were able to actually involve them and get something out from this. I am quite happy with what we have got and with what we have achieved.

DB: What are the main committees you worked on? What particular bills did you focus on?

MN: I’m actually in a committee where no bills are going – I’m in the Public Accounts Committee, and I’m also the chair of the Petitions Committee.

DB: What would you say are the biggest achievements within your term; in terms of what you have accomplished for your constituency and the country as a whole?

MN: The biggest achievement is the tax regime. We have changed the whole system and now that people are aware about the taxes even though we have not finished all these bills, still we can get good revenue through tax. That’s one good achievement and also one big achievement is the penal code. Even though it’s still in the committee, before the end of this term we will be able to make it as a law. There are a few small things that we need to scrutinise, fine tune.

DB: What would you say is the biggest mistake or worst step you have taken in your political career? Why?

MN: Biggest mistake is the Supreme Court – definitely. I’m not saying that all the justices are not perfect, but the way we did it is not good. There was political will that day and everyone was awake at midnight and we passed a bill, and we amended that bill the same day, and the same day the president [Mohamed Nasheed] again gazetted it and published it. That was selected to the Supreme Court and we could have – if we had more time, if we had more compromise – we could have achieved a better Supreme Court with democratic fundamentals.

Today what I feel is that the Supreme Court as a whole is lacking the democratic fundamentals. They might even charge me with contempt of court for making this statement.

DB: Are you taking the optional committee allowance of an additional MVR20,000? Why or why not?

MN: What I believe is that People’s Majlis salary is fine, but at the same time what I believe is that civil servant salaries are very very low. So, we need to have an efficient civil service in order to minimise the number of people serving in the civil service. I mean we need to have multi-tasked people, we need to have technology and thereby we have fewer staffs and we can give them better salaries.

DB: But the committee allowance for MPs, is that something you’ve been taking?

MN: Yes and no.

DB: What is your view about parliamentarians and other public servants declaring their financial assets publicly for the electorate to be able to refer to?

MN: I think it’s good – then corruption and some misconduct could be minimised. We can’t totally get rid of these things, but we can minimise these things.

DB: Are you re-contesting in the next elections? Why? What do you hope to accomplish should you be elected for a new term?

MN: Yes. I had a second thought that I would not run for the parliament because this is my ninth year in public office, so I thought I would not run. But when I see some of the candidates who are running – some people who are running for party primaries in some parties – I think it’s my moral obligation to be in the parliament.

Otherwise, I feel that our parliament might lack intellectual people and parliament might lack sensible people. When we don’t have sensible and intellectual people in our parliament, we can’t have sensible laws and we will have bias. Now, we can’t see through pink-painted glass or yellow-painted glass, we have see through see-through glass – then only can we see it clearly.

DB: What do you think the DRP’s role will be in the next five years?

MN: DRP is all the time declining because after President [Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom left, we had a rough time, and just after the 2013 presidential election out leader Thasmeen Ali had also left the party. Now I’m working as the interim leader, but what we are trying to do is salvage this thing from the storm, and right now we have achieved a lot of milestones.

What I believe is that we are the third biggest party in the Maldives and we have our organs, our island branches functioning, and we have our grassroots support. The thing is that, in Malé, we are very low – and all the political activity happens in Malé. But if you want to have a rally in an island or an atoll, it will be easy for us. So we have to build everything from scratch.

I can see that the DRP is the only party with an ideology because PPM [Progressive Party of Maldives] is President Gayoom’s party and everybody knows that, and MDP [Maldivian Democratic Party] is MDP’s party and everybody knows that. Definitely, you have to ask the question with JP [Jumhooree Party] – JP means Gasim, Gasim means JP. Sun Travel Shiyam’s party [Maldivian Development Alliance] – we don’t know the name of the party.

In time there will be about six parties and the only party with an ideology is Adhaalath, but because of the scholars and because they are using religion as a political tool, people have lost faith in these scholars. So, DRP is the only party with an ideology.

DB: What improvements do you feel the 18th Majlis will need to make to improve as an institution?

MN: We need to elect educated people. We need to elect people with experience. If we elect a bunch of uneducated people, irrational people, to the parliament, it’s very difficult to work with these kinds of people. Sometimes when we stay overnight and build a lot of hard work on the budget, some might come and mess up the place for all the wrong reasons. We can’t entertain these things – for the last nine years we have been entertaining these things. We need calm, we need to go forward in order to achieve something in the parliament as well.

I believe in the 17th parliament we have done a lot but if we can get more educated people there, they will behave properly and they will achieve something. They will at least have some sense of responsibility – the problem is that they don’t have any sense of responsibility.

DB: What are your thoughts on party switching? Do you think it undermines the party system?

MN: I have switched my party – I feel that because we are a very young democracy, we don’t have parties with political ideologies, this is the main reason that we switch parties. Back in 2004, as a young person, I wanted President Gayoom to go and that a new president should come but still between President Yameen and President Nasheed, I’d choose President Nasheed because I think he is a dynamic and energetic person who can change everything here in the Maldives.

What I feel is that all these systems are hijacked by a few individuals and people like me with ambition and who want to achieve bigger political portfolios, we don’t have the space to move around. In time to come there will be two or three parties – I believe that will be PPM, MDP, and DRP – other parties will vanish.

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PPM confident of winning majority of island and atoll councils

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) is confident of winning “a clear majority” of seats from atoll and island councils in Saturday’s local government elections, Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla declared yesterday.

Speaking to press at the party’s office, the MP for Laamu Fonadhoo said former President Mohamed Nasheed’s claim on Saturday night that the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) would win a majority of seats was “worrying” as provisional results have not been announced yet.

Despite the MDP retaining control of the Malé and Addu city councils, preliminary results show that the PPM-led coalition has won 38 atoll council seats to the MDP’s 28 seats, Abdul Raheem noted.

Candidates from the ‘Progressive Coalition’ have also won 337 island council seats, he added.

Abdul Raheem suggested that government-aligned parties lost out in some constituencies with strong support as a result of inadequate campaigning.

“This happened because the local council election came not long after we assumed government after the presidential election. So we weren’t able to put in an adequate effort,” he said.

Voters considered family connections more than party affiliation in choosing candidates, Abdul Raheem said, contending that the results would therefore not be reflected in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22.

The PPM MP went on to condemn former President Nasheed’s threats to impeach President Abdulla Yameen should the MDP win a two-thirds majority of the People’s Majlis.

Speaking to press on Saturday night, Nasheed suggested that the local council elections indicated the MDP would win a majority of parliamentary seats.

“I believe Maldivians want an MDP majority in the country, and an MDP government in the country. The laws state two methods for changing a government. That is through an election or through a no-confidence vote followed by an election. If the Maldivian citizens give us a majority in parliament, then we will be forced to take that no confidence vote,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Nasheed told reporters that the MDP suspected electoral fraud using fake national identity cards in the presidential election.

Abdul Raheem meanwhile condemned Nasheed’s remarks and accused the former president of attempting to incite unrest and turmoil.

The PPM did not believe that the public would give the opposition party enough parliamentary seats to impeach the president, he said.

Despite differences of opinion among coalition parties, Abdul Raheem insisted that the ruling coalition was “strong and united”.

Referring to Nasheed’s remarks conceding the presidential election on November 16, Abdul Raheem said a responsible opposition party would not seek to change the government.

“We have half the country behind us. And therefore I wouldn’t see many challenges for us to face the next local council elections and the parliamentary elections. So we should be doing that,” Nasheed had said in the wake of the MDP’s narrow presidential election defeat.

“One thing we should not contemplate would be to overthrow the government by street action or by direct action. We must adhere to democratic principles.”

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Chief Justice silent on Judge Ali Hameed’s sex tape probe

Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain has refused to comment on Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed’s alleged appearance in a series of sex tapes, claiming the judicial oversight body will investigate offenses committed by judges.

Speaking to the press following the inauguration of a seminar on criminal procedures and sentencing at Nasandhura Palace Hotel, Faiz said: “We are speaking about accusations. The Chief Justice will comment on the matter when relevant authorities decide on the nature of the accusations. How many other’s have also faced accusations?”

However, the judicial oversight body Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has failed to take action against Hameed despite repeated recommendations for suspension by two separate sub committee set up to investigate the matter.

A second subcommittee set up in December requested the JSC suspend Hameed claiming he had refused to cooperate with the investigation.

JSC member and opposition MP Ahmed Hamza said JSC chair and Supreme Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed have refused to schedule the issue on the commission’s agenda.

Hamza has told local media he believes the JSC will delay deliberations on the issue until his membership and the People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid’s membership expires with the inauguration of the new parliament in June. Shahid and Hamza both belong to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The 10 member commission includes representatives from the legislature, judiciary, executive, and public.

Local media in December reported that the Maldives Police Services had sent a letter to the JSC claiming the sex-tape probe had been stalled due to the Criminal Court’s failure to provide keys search warrants.

The police had allegedly sought two warrants, one to authorise the police to take a photograph of Hameed’s face for comparative analysis, and a second to search his residence.

Neither the police nor the JSC have confirmed the existence of the letter, but the police have said it was still unable to determine if the man in the three sex tapes is Hameed despite several forensic tests.

At the time, Superintendent Abdulla Nawaz said the police were awaiting key information from abroad for more clues.

Spy cam footage allegedly depicting Hameed indulging in different sexual acts with multiple foreign women surfaced on local media last July.

One such video – time-stamped January 24 2013 – showed the judge fraternising with a topless woman with an eastern European accent. At one point the figure alleged to be the judge – who was only wearing only white underwear –  leans into the camera, making his face clearly visible.

Afterwards, the woman repeatedly encourages the man to drink wine from a mini-bar. “If I drink that I will be caught. I don’t want to be caught,” the man insists, refusing.

Images and symbols depicting scenes from the sex-tape formed a prominent part of protests against the court’s repeated interference in the presidential election of 2013.

The videos appeared shortly after a film – also involving Hameed – began circulating on social media in which he appeared to be discussing political influence in the judiciary with a local businessman.

Despite public circulation of the videos and widespread media coverage of the scandal, Hameed continues to sit on the Supreme Court bench.

Following the scandal, Hameed was one of the four judges forming the majority in the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the initial first round of the 2013 presidential election, as well as the ruling that unseated two opposition MPs over a controversial case of decreed debt.

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Q&A: MP Rozaina Adam – Thulusdhoo constituency

In a series of interviews to lead into the the 2014 parliamentary elections – scheduled for March 22nd – Minivan News will be conducting interviews with incumbent MPs.

All 77 sitting members have been contacted, from across the political spectrum, to be asked a standardised set of questions with additional topicals. The interviews will be published as and when they are received.

As part of the series, Minivan News interviewed MP Rozaina Adam,

MP Rozaina represents the Thulusdhoo constituency of Kaafu Atoll and was elected on a Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) ticket, she joined opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in November 2013.

Ahmed Rilwan: What made you enter the political arena and how?

Rozaina Adam: My family was involved in politics – my father was an MP and my mother served in the Special Majlis. So I have been interested in politics since childhood. But the system back then didn’t make it easy for anyone new to enter politics, but the introduction of party system provided many with this opportunity. So in 2008 I decided to run for People’s Majlis the following year.

AR: Based on your attendance and work in this ending term, how would you judge your performance as an MP?

RA: I am very satisfied with the work I did.

AR: What are the main committees you worked on? What particular bills did you focus on?

RA: I am currently in the Committee on Independent Institutions, National Security Committee, and the 241 [security services oversight] Committee. I am serving as the vice chair in all three committees now and the Chair of Sexual Harassment Bill Review Committee.

Earlier I was in the National Development Committee, and was the Chair of Domestic Violence Bill Review Committee as well as the subcommittee that reviewed the Anti-Torture Bill.

As for bills, I introduced the Domestic Violence Bill and proposed an amendment to the Majlis regulation to create a dedicated committee for women and children’s issues. I was working on the Sexual Harassment Bill when I discovered that the government is also preparing one, so I introduced the bill on behalf of the government.

I have also drafted a bill on medical negligence, it has been sent to the Ministry of Health for comments. It is still pending as I had to send it to each new minister with the government changing thrice recently.

I proposed an amendment to the Maldives Family Regulation to increase the child support payments, another amendment for the Decentralization Act to reserve a seat for women in the local councils and to arrange allowances for women’s committees. And the [second] amendment to the Public Finance Act requiring [the government] to send the budget to People’s Majlis earlier. These are the main bills that I worked on.

AR: What would you say are the biggest achievements within your term – in terms of what you have accomplished for your constituency and the country as a whole?

RA: I was able to include all major needs of my constituency in the budget, but there is not much I could do about the government halting some of these projects.

During my term in Majlis, harbors of K.Huraa and K.Dhiffushi were completed. Thuslusdhoo land reclamation and harbor projects were included in the budget, water and sewage system of Himmafushi and Thulusdhoo were completed. A set of classrooms were constructed in Huraa, work is in progress for classrooms in Thulusdhoo and Dhiffushi.

One major issue that my constituency faced was the controversy that followed the changing of Atoll Council from Thulusdhoo [when the Atoll Council decided to move the office from Maafushi to Thulusdhoo the government fought against it]

I see that as a major achievement. Even as an opposition member I worked against the government – with DRP members – to find a solution to that problem within the Majlis.

My main focus in Majlis was mostly women’s development issues. I focused more on such issues because only five out of 77 MPs are women. There are plenty of people to focus on other issues, but only a few people focus on women’s issues. So I chose to give more attention to that area.

For instance I put a lot of  pressure to fast-track the Sexual Harassment Bill, especially during the Fahmy controversy [when President of the Civil Service Commission Mohamed Fahmy was accused of sexually harassing one of his staff].

I was in DRP back then, however I supported that [of removing Fahmy for sexual harassment] even though it was MDP [Maldivian Democratic Party] that proposed it. It was because of my vote in the committee [ Committee on Independent Institutions ] that it was passed [to remove Fahmy]. And due to this the issue of sexual harassment came to national attention, I see that as a huge achievement.

AR: What would you say is the biggest mistake or worst step you have taken in your political career? Why?

RA: I can’t say it was completely wrong, but in hindsight, I am not entirely happy that I supported President Maumoon [Abdul Gayoom]. When I look back now it seems so, but my decision was based on the information I received at the time.

Later I found from President Maumoon’s words and actions, especially what he said when Theemuge [Presidential Residence] audit report was published and how he justified it. It was all very different from the reality which was revealed when the original bills and documents were sent to the Majlis.

There is nothing else that I see as mistake. I was in DRP because I accepted the party policies. But with the presidential elections we realized that DRP’s goals cannot be achieved as it still remains a party created by Maumoon. I decided to change to MDP because I believe the political sphere will actually have [just] MDP and PPM. And I don’t believe PMM was established to serve the people.  We know exactly why they left us [DRP], it was to sustain President Maumoon’s family rule. So I believe a lot of good can be achieved for the people through MDP. If we look in to the background of MDP we can see there are opportunities for everyone in this party.

AR: Are you taking the optional committee allowance of an additional MVR20,000? Why or why not?

RA: I have no personal feelings towards it, neither for nor against it. But I do take it. For the most part of my term I served as an opposition MP, so it was tough to manage problems faced by my constituents.

MP s don’t have to provide financial assistance to their constituents, but we should understand that it still is the established culture in Maldives, it doesn’t seem to be changing. It is hard to ignore when someone approach for assistance especially for medical purposes. The common mindset is that MPs are supposed to provide this assistance, so we have to.

AR: What is your view about parliamentarians and other public servants declaring their financial assets publicly for the electorate to be able to refer to?

RA: I don’t have any problem with that.

AR: Are you re-contesting in the next elections? Why? What do you hope to accomplish should you be elected for a new term?

RA: For the next Majlis I am running for Addu City’s Meedhoo constituency seat. I chose that constituency because my mother is from Addu City, and as a person who fights for gender equality I don’t believe that people only belong to their father’s island. So I believe I belong Addu City as much as I belong to Malé City.

We can see that instead of developing, Addu City is going backwards. It used to be one of the most developed regions in Maldives even during the early days of President [Ibrahim] Nasir. But day after day more people had to migrate to Malé City for various reasons and the place now seems abandoned. It is because there are no basic services. Even now, while we call it a city,  there are no water and sewage services, roads are not repaired, electricity services is weak. If we take a look at education and health we don’t see services adequate for a city. I am going face the challenging task of develop Addu City as a city, doing whatever could be done within the Majlis.

If I am elected, my vision is to propose a bill to Majlis that would set standards and detail the services that should be available in a city. I wish to state in the bill that basic services – such as water, sewerage, repairing of roads – should be provided within a certain period of being declared as a city. Addu City should have university campuses, have services such as renewal of ID cards, paying migrant worker visa fees if it is city. Actually the services provided in Malé City is also not that good. So all cities will benefit from this bill.

AR: What improvements do you feel the 18th Majlis will need to make to improve as an institution?

RA: I think MPs should work more responsibly in serving the people through the Majlis. Speed up the committee stage of bills.

And we see that it is the government, and not MPs, who propose most bills to the Majlis. There are some difficulties in doing this. We don’t get the necessary legal assistance from our Majlis, in other countries there are legal assistants to help MPs draft bills. We as MPs discuss the issues and how those issues have to be dealt with, but drafting a bill is a technical work. Currently we have to pay private firms to draft bills, and it is costly.

I think this is something the secretariat should work on, there should be a drafting department capable of providing this assistance.

AR: What are your thoughts on party switching? Do you think it undermines the party system?

RA: It does not undermine party system. Party is actually a political ideology, so if a person’s thinking changes and that the current party does not follow the same line of thinking, one has to go where that thinking exists.

I don’t believe in changing party for money. But changing to a party that fit’s one’s political thinking and ideology is a right, and it is a right guaranteed by the constitution for every citizen.

When the general thinking of majority membership of the party varies from mine, if I stay in that party I will always have to work against the common members of the party.

There are not much of difference ideological between MDP and DRP, especially DRP leadership. The split up came during the presidential elections when it came down to MDP versus PPM – DRP had to take a side. We found that common members wanted to side with PPM, but most people in DRP leadership has a thinking similar to MDP.

I assure to all members of MDP that I came to MDP because I wanted to. And despite what some anti-campaigners say, I did not change party for the seat and I will never change to PPM.

AR: What do you see as major challenges for political participation of women in the Maldives?

RA: There should be equal rights, and you could say women can run for parliament and they can also get elected even without reserving seats. But we can see the results, that it is not the reality. If that was the case people would be elected equally [from both genders].

Another issue is financing campaigns, most cannot fund campaigns by themselves. We need to find ways to provide funding for women who compete in elections. The government also need to create awareness and encourage women to get into politics.
But we can’t reserve seats without amending the constitution. Another way to deal with this is for parties to encourage women to compete in their strongholds. If I’m elected I will do whatever is necessary for the empowerment of women.

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National Complaints Bureau investigating 181 complaints concerning council elections

A total of 181 complaints were submitted to the independent National Complaints Bureau concerning yesterday’s local council elections.

Bureau Chief Ali Azim informed the press yesterday that none of the issues raised could have a material effect on the outcome of any local council contest.

“Of the 181 complaints submitted so far, we have not identified any that could impact the outcome. But we are looking into it,” he said.

The most common complaint concerned the Elections Commission’s (EC’s) decision to display national identity card photos in the voter lists placed outside polling stations, Azim said.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek told reporters yesterday that photos were included in the voter lists as a safeguard to prevent fraud.

In addition to a number of phoned in complaints, two women submitted complaints in cases where ID card photos were taken before they wore face veils, said EC member Ali Mohamed Manik.

Following complaints from women who wear the hijab, Azim said the complaints bureau brought the matter to the attention of EC members and “informed [polling stations] to cover with a piece of paper the photos of people who insist on taking it down.”

The decision to display photos also drew criticism from some religious scholars, with NGO Salaf preacher Sheikh Adam Shameem calling to punish those responsible.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla contended that the practice was contrary to Islamic principles and infringed on the rights of veiled women.

Meanwhile, Azim revealed that complaints submitted through official complaint forms included 78 cases of voters registered for the wrong ballot box, one case of a voter’s name missing from the list, three cases of alleged illegal campaigning, six cases of ballot boxes transferred to a different location, three cases concerning assisted voting, two complaints concerning inmates, one case of a voter displaying a marked ballot paper, and seven complaints about the EC.

Phoned in complaints included 27 complaints concerning voter registration issues, two complaints from voters registered for the wrong ballot box, 11 complaints of deceased citizens in the voters list, one complaint of gender mismatch, three complaints of illegal campaigning, three requests to transfer ballot boxes, two complaints about the EC and 28 complaints about displaying identity card photos.

In addition, a complaint was made alleging that two pens with fading ink were used in a polling booth.

“Concerning that complaint, we have seized the two pens through the Maldives Police Service. We are considering verifying through forensic investigators in the country or abroad,” Azim said.

According to the police, three men aged 38, 42, and 48 were taken into custody in Addu City for allegedly displaying their marked ballot papers. All three have since been released.

Two men from Faafu Nilandhoo were also briefly taken into custody after attempting to prevent the closing of the ballot box.

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Raajje TV and VTV ordered to apologise for defamation

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has ordered private broadcasters Raajje TV and Villa TV (VTV) to apologise for defamatory material and ordered the stations to broadcast live events with a delay to minimise future defamation.

The broadcast media regulator said Raajje TV had aired an opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meeting on September 23, 2013, in which an MDP member had defamed the Supreme Court bench.

VTV is said to have aired material defamatory to MDP presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed, MP Rozaina Adam, and Elections Commission President Fuwad Thowfeek during its daily talk show ‘Fasmanzaru’ on September 27, 2013.

MBC has ordered Rajje TV and VTV to broadcast an apology and to allow the wronged party to speak in their defense by January 31. Furthermore, VTV has been ordered to broadcast ‘Fasmanzaru’ with a broadcast delay and Raajje TV has been ordered to broadcast all political events with a broadcast delay.

Speaking to Minivan News, VTV CEO Ibrahim Khaleel said the MBC’s decision “limited the freedom of the press”, and that the station did not see any reason to air an apology.

According to Khaleel, MBC ordered VTV to apologise for comments made on air by MP Ilham Ahmed and MP ‘Redwave’ Ahmed Saleem.

“The constitution guarantees freedom of expression within the tenets of Islam and we, as a TV station, gave airtime to politicians to express their opinions. No one has said anything contrary to a tenet of Islam,” Khaleel argued.

If any party feels they have been wronged, then the laws allow them to pursue defamation charges or to seek compensation through other means, he added.

Deputy CEO of Raajje TV Yamin Rasheed also condemned the MBC’s decision as “discriminatory”.

“It is not fair when MBC only orders specific TV channels to air specific programmes or events with a delay,” Yamin said arguing that other broadcasters must also be ordered to broadcast all political events with a delay.

Yamin also expressed concern over MBC ordering the station to air an apology over an MDP MP’s comments. However, he said Raajje TV would broadcast an apology and would allow the Supreme Court judges an hour to speak in their defense.

MBC has previously ordered Raajje TV, Dhi TV, and Dhi FM to apologise for defamatory material.

Raajje TV was ordered to apologise in December 2013 for airing a report defaming the Supreme Court, but MBC said the report does not constitute a national security threat as alleged by the apex court.

Furthermore, in July 2012, MBC ordered Raajje TV to apologise for airing a report alleging that a policeman had stolen petrol from a motorbike, and in August 2012 the station was ordered to issue an apology on three consecutive nights for publicising Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim’s text messages

In March 2012, Dhi FM was similarly reprimanded for content aired following the overthrow of Nasheed’s administration on February 8, 2012.

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Nasheed threatens impeachment after MDP wins in Addu, Malé cities

Following the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) win in Malé and Addu cities, former President Mohamed Nasheed has predicted an MDP majority in parliamentary elections scheduled for March and threatened to impeach President Abdulla Yameen.

MDP appears to have won all six of the local government seats in Addu City and eight of the 11 Malé City seats. Results for the remaining 1083 island and atoll council seats are rolling in.

Speaking at a press conference tonight, Nasheed predicted the MDP will win approximately 700 of the 1100 local government seats and said he believed the Maldivian citizens continued to hope for an MDP administration.

“The Maldivian citizens still want an MDP government, and for Maldives to be ruled according to MDP’s philosophy. I would like to tell the Maldivian public, do not be disheartened. God willing, without much delay, we will take over the government,” he said.

Nasheed had lost November’s controversial presidential elections narrowly, winning 48.61 percent of the vote (105,181) to Yameen’s 51.39 percent (111,203) – a difference of just 6,022 votes.

The 2013 presidential elections were marred with repeated and controversial delays after the Supreme Court annulled a widely commended first round of polls.

The apex court then imposed a 16-point electoral guidelines on the Elections Commission (EC), which critics say limit the independent commission’s authority to administer elections and allow political parties and candidates to veto elections.

Nasheed’s threat of impeachment comes after allegations of electoral fraud involving fake national identity cards in the presidential polls.

Elaborating further tonight, Nasheed said: “There are many ways to legally change a government. One of them is through the People’s Majlis. I believe the local council elections indicate the direction the People’s Majlis will go. I believe Maldivians want an MDP majority in the country, and an MDP government in the country.”

“The laws state two methods for changing a government. That is through an election or through a no confidence vote followed by an election. If the Maldivian citizens give us a majority in parliament, then we will be forced to take that no confidence vote,” he continued.

Earlier today, Nasheed said the non-existent voters had been added to the voter registry as part of “efforts to rig the election through the Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court’s guideline included a clause ordering the EC to discard its voter registry and compile a new list based on the Home Ministry’s Department of National Registration’s (DNR) database.

Speaking to the media this afternoon, Nasheed said the DNR’s list contained hundreds of eligible voters without photos.

“We suspect very strongly that those without photos are non-existent people. However, they voted in the presidential election,” Nasheed said.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek told parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee on Thursday (January 16) that the first list with ID card photos provided by the DNR was missing photos of more than 5,400 people.

However, the DNR provided photos of about 4,000 voters two weeks ago, Thowfeek told MPs, which left the final voter lists without the photos of 1,176 people.

Asked if photos could have been repeated in the DNR list, Thowfeek said the EC could not check and verify the information.

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PIC reluctant to cast doubt on election annulment, says Elections Commission

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has refused to investigate the confidential police forensic report – based on which the Supreme Court annulled the first round of the 2013 presidential election – because it could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the ruling, the Elections Commission has said.

Speaking at the People’s Majlis Commitee on Independent Institutions, EC member Mohamed Farooq said that the commission noticed serious issues in the Maldives Police Service (MPS) forensic report. According to Farooq, the EC found that many among the people who were considered deceased based on the forensic report were actually alive.

When the EC requested for the court’s permission to include those people in the eligible voters list, the court responded saying it did not declare anyone dead and the annulment of first round of elections was based on the police forensic report, Farooq said.

“Then we realised that it was more of a issue with the forensic report than the Supreme Court. And since it was prepared by the police, we submitted a complaint to the Police Integrity Commission, because they produced such a faulty report,” Farooq was quoted as saying in CNM.

Fraudulent allegations

According to Farooq, the PIC responded to the complaint saying that if a decision is made on the forensic report it could raise questions about the legitimacy of that case, and therefore the commission will not decide on the matter nor will they investigate the case further.

In the first round of elections former President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) came first with 45.45 percent. President Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) came second with 25.35 percent, and the Jumhooree Party’s Qasim Ibrahim came third with 24.07 percent of the vote.

Qasim subsequently filed a case at the apex court citing fraud and vote rigging in the election. On October 7, the  Maldives Supreme Court annulled the first round.

The 4:3 verdict cited a confidential police report submitted to the court alleging 5,600 ineligible votes. It was said to be compiled by a team of MPS ‘forensic experts’ who worked inside the Supreme Court premises collecting and analysing evidence of the alleged vote rigging.

Later, when the People’s Majlis ‘241’ security services oversight committee requested for the report, then Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz declined. The parliament have still not officially received the report, however a copy of the document was obtained and published by Minivan News.

Report’s impact could be huge: MP Sameer

The report was later shared with the EC, who will now review it and submit a report to the People’s Majlis Committee on Independent Institutions.

Speaking to Minivan News today, the committee chair MP Ahmed Sameer said the  group would review the EC report and take necessary action.

“The impact of this report is huge. If there is something wrong with the report we will have to look into it. It shall be discussed in the Majlis,” Sameer said.

The three dissenting judges in the Supreme Court case, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz, Justice Abdulla Areef and Justice Muthasim Adnan in their dissenting opinion dismissed the confidential police report submitted by the Attorney General Azima Shakoor as invalid evidence as EC was not provided a right of response to the document.

The majority decision of court based on the secret police report cited 5,623 ineligible votes, while Faiz and Areef, after a comparison between the EC’s list of those who voted and the Jumhooree Party’s seven lists alleged of dead, underage, and repeated voters found only 473 cases (0.2 percent of votes) of irregular votes.

The two judges also stated that election laws do not allow for annulling the entire election in instances of fraud, and all three dissenting judges challenged the apex court’s constitutional jurisdiction over the case.

The confidential police report was also dismissed by the United Nations after an expert review of the document. “We feel confident in asserting that the election was all inclusive, there was no disenfranchisement and the quality of the voter register met international standards,” read a statement from UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco following his visit to the Maldives stated

Other local and international election observers, among them Commonwealth and Indian observers, also praised the conduct of elections, considering it free and fair.

Some people claimed to be underage in the secret police report were later found to be of voting age at the time, and some declared deceased in the report found to be alive.

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MDP suspects electoral fraud in presidential election, says Nasheed

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) suspects electoral fraud using fake national identity cards in last year’s presidential election, former President Mohamed Nasheed has said.

Speaking to reporters after voting in today’s local council election, Nasheed referred to the Elections Commission (EC) including ID card photos in voter lists used at polling stations.

“We now have photos of all eligible voters. [But] we can see people without photos in the eligible voters list. We suspect very strongly that those without photos are non-existent people. However, they voted in the presidential election,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed explained that all candidates were sent the marked voters registry after the election, which identifies those who voted.

“So we are very certain now that there was serious fraud in the presidential election,” he said, adding that there were discrepancies between the voter registry used in the presidential election and the one used today.

Nasheed said he believes that non-existent people were added to the database at the Department of National Registration (DNR) as part of “efforts to rig the election through the Supreme Court.”

On October 7, the Supreme Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election on September 7 based on a secret police forensic report despite international and domestic praise of a free and fair vote.

Subsequent attempts to conduct the polls were obstructed by the police after the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) refused to sign the voters registry – a requirement from a 16-point guideline imposed by the apex court judgment.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated by PPM candidate Abdulla Yameen in the second round of the presidential election that eventually took place on November 16.

Yameen received 51.39 percent of the vote (111,203) whilst Nasheed polled 48.61 percent (105,181) – a difference of just 6,022 votes.

Total voter turnout was 91.41 percent (218,621), the highest since 2008, up five percent from 208,504 (86 percent) in the first round.

Nasheed meanwhile told the press today that discussions were taking place within the MDP on a course of action concerning the suspected electoral fraud.

“I believe we have to go to court, too. We have to raise our voices about this. We have to clearly find out what happened with this vote. We always suspected there was fraud committed through the Supreme Court. Now, God willing, we will be able to confirm with this information,” the MDP presidential candidate said.

He added that the party could not accept the results of the presidential election if allegations of fraud were substantiated.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek told parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee on Thursday (January 16) that the first list with ID card photos provided by the DNR was missing photos of more than 5,400 people.

However, the DNR provided photos of about 4,000 voters two weeks ago, Thowfeek told MPs, which left the final voter lists without the photos of 1,176 people.

Asked if photos could have been repeated in the DNR list, Thowfeek said the EC could not check and verify the information.

Speaking to press following the closing of polls today, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik addressed the allegations of phantom voters on the DNR list.

Manik said he personally did not believe that the DNR “as the institution responsible maintaining information of all Maldivian citizens” would provide fraudulent lists to the EC.

He added that the EC has not attempted to verify the authenticity of the photos provided by the DNR.

Thowfeek noted that the commission was legally responsible for compiling the eligible voters registry prior to the annulled presidential polls on September 7 last year.

However, the Supreme Court ordered the EC to consider the DNR list as the only source in compiling the registry, Thowfeek explained.

He added that the EC was forced to consider the DNR list as legitimate despite errors, such as citizens deemed deceased while alive.

“So it has become difficult for us to say anything about the validity of the list,” he said.

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