Tag: Ali Waheed

Former DRP MP wins beachfront house in Hulhumale’ with Rf4.6 million bid

Former opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed, who recently joined the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has just won a beachfront house for Rf4.6 million (US$300,000), bidding Rf3020 per square foot.

Local newspaper Haveeru reported that Ali Waheed’s wife had also won a house from the 36 beachfront residential plots on Hulhumale, bidding Rf 3020 per square foot, for Rf 4,749,651 (US$310,000). Waheed and his wife were the third highest bidders for the property, under the Hulhulmale Development Corporation (HDC)’s housing programme.

Waheed’s former opposition colleague, MP Ahmed Nihan, questioned Waheed’s ability to afford such a property on his MP’s wage. Waheed, he alleged, “was quite a poor boy when we first met him as a DRP MP – that’s why we spoke with a friend and arranged him a house for rent that did not require an advance paid upfront,” said Nihan. “There was no way that Waheed could afford to buy a house in Hulhumale’ for Rf4.6 Million unless there was a hand of corruption in it.”

Nihan claimed that Waheed “earns a little more than Rf 60,000 (US$4000) a month like other MPs, pays Rf 25,000 (US$1600) in monthly rent for the apartment he currently lives in, and has to spend the rest on living expenses and helping constituents and travelling to islands to attend meetings and stuff – where did he get the Rf 4.6 million?” Nihan questioned.

Waheed, who was dropped to parliament every session by a fellow MP, “now owns a Mazda 3 with a driver”, Nihan added, further claiming that the MP had paid an advance for his apartment in US dollars.

“Since he joined MDP he always seems very happy and contented. He now has a Mazda 3, has paid the advance payment of his rented house in US Dollars – the payment we delayed for him because he wasn’t wealthy and the landlord was a DRP supporter.”

If Waheed got all the money genuinely by being a MP, “Why does no other MP get to buy a beachfront house in Hulhumale’ for Rf4.6 Million? I cannot afford that,” Nihan claimed.

“MDP MPs are not only fortunate enough to win houses, they also have been winning reefs, uninhabited islands and resorts as well,” he claimed.

Waheed was not responding to calls at time of press.

Aside from Ali Waheed, President Mohamed Nasheed’s brother Dr Ibrahim Nashid and two children of Human Rights Ambassador Mohamed ‘Go Go’ Latheef also won bids for houses in Hulhumale’.

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Thasmeen claims silver lining as DRP MP Ali Waheed “jumps ship”

Opposition leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has claimed that the prospect of an Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voting majority in parliament – a potential scenario following  recent defections of DRP members to the ruling party – could have a silver lining for his supporters come election time.

Thasmeen said he believed if the MDP’s claims of having overall control of the Majlis proved true, the government at the 2013 general election would be unable to escape blame for recent economic reforms he believes have failed the public.

Thasmeen, who is himself currently embroiled in factional party infighting with a group aligned with former DRP leader and Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was speaking as Ali Waheed, a former Deputy Leader of his party, joined the MDP over the weekend.

Waheed, who joined former DRP members Ahmed Assad ‘Adubarey’ and DRP Sports Wing Head Hassan Shujau in signing up to the MDP, gave a speech citing concerns about the democratic nature of his former party. Waheed has strongly criticised President Mohamed Nasheed in the past.

“We did not bring change to the country for a person to advance because he belongs to a certain family or clan, but for a person to move up through merit,” Waheed said. “Today we can see that those who could not digest this have created different factions and we can see the state of the party [DRP] we formed with our hard work. Therefore, because [the party] has become an inheritance, I have let go and walked out empty-handed.”

Thasmeen said a majority would mean the governing party would be no longer able to blame opposition for its own failings – something he feels they had succeeded in doing previously.

“Firstly, I am not sure that the MDP have gained a parliamentary majority; as far as I am aware only two [MPs] have shifted to the party. Certainly if [a majority] happens, it would pave the way for the government to get things passed through parliament the way they want them, and this would be a new era for politics,” he said.

Thasmeen claimed that as the DRP had never itself held a political majority, it had effectively been subjected to checks and balances in parliament resulting from needing to agree unanimously with opposition coalition partners. As a result of this need for unanimous compromise, the DRP head claimed that the opposition’s ability to block government legislation had been used only in rare instances.

He added that in the event that the MDP might potentially claim a majority within the Majlis, the country’s changing political dynamic would not significantly change his own party’s policies of trying to hold the government to account.

“One thing is clear – the government has been successful in blaming parliament for what have been failures of its policies.  Come the next election, they will pay the price for the programmes that have failed, and this will be something of a silver lining for the DRP,” he said.

“Ali Waheed’s shift [to the MDP] does not make any difference to our work as the opposition or possible collaboration with the government. It is a joint parliamentary group that sets our policy and if we agree strongly about an issue with the government then we will work with them on it. We take stands on principle, no matter the strength of the MDP.”

Thasmeen highlighted his party’s stand on government policy areas such as the economy which this month led to protests – said to be instigated as a youth movement – held in Male’ over concerns about the cost of living.

However, the DRP leader added that recent divides within the party linked to the formation of the Z-DRP faction had negatively impacted its opposition role.

“There is no question that these divisions have weakened the DRP. Unease had been created in the party, but I do not believe this is a challenge that cannot be overcome,” he said.

Referring particularly to Waheed’s defection, Thasmeen said he believed that MPs elected on a DRP ticket should not then choose to use divides within the party as an “excuses to jump ship” to the MDP.

DRP post-Waheed

Following Waheed’s departure from the party, Thasmeen said that the country’s economic reforms – such as devaluing the rufiya – would remain a key concern for the DRP when parliament next reconvened.

“The government has indicated that it will release proposals to address economic concerns and bring down the dollar rate,” he said. “We do accept the fact that revenue has to be increased, but we would like to see serious attempts to reduce state expenditure and ensure revenue is not being wasted.”

The DRP leader claimed that the party was not specifically calling on the government to slash spending in a single area such as political appointees, but instead asked for a concensus on areas such as in the funding of new offices for local councils formed during local elections held in February.

“We are willing to support spending cuts across the board; but it is important that this is done with a consensus-based approach.”

On the back of attempts by dismissed deputy DRP leader Umar Naseer – currently aligned with the DRP faction – to try and file a case with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegations the MDP had bribed DRP members to join its ranks, Thasmeen said he was not certain of the truth about such claims.

“Without knowing the facts it is not an easy situation to comment on. However, as a party, the MDP has a number of policies that have failed,” he said. “The forced exchange rate is one [policy] that has impacted the lives of many Maldivians, there is no logic in jumping ship to suddenly support it.”

Confident of a majority

MDP MP Ahmed Hamza said the party was confident it would achieve a voting majority as opposition MPs “realise that the party’s approach is not constructive.”

“I think they are frustrated,” Hamza claimed. “Ali Waheed said he had waited two years without seeing a responsible opposition.”

He acknowledged that the loss of MPs risked destabilising the already split opposition: “Ali Waheed was a major voice in the opposition,” he observed.

A voting majority favouring the MDP would “speed the efficiency at passing legislation to support government policy,” Hamza said, claiming that this would allow the government to swifting bring in changes to stablise the economy.

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President claims MDP parliamentary majority as DRP MP Ali Waheed signs with MDP

Just a day after resigning from the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), MP Ali Waheed was last night welcomed to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) by President Mohamed Nasheed, who claimed Waheed’s decision had handed the party a parliamentary majority and the capability to push ahead with proposed reforms.

Waheed, a former DRP deputy leader, yesterday signed up the party alongside Ahmed Assad ‘Adubarey’ and DRP Sports Wing Head, Hassan Shujau.

A senior MDP source told Minivan News that additional members of the party were talking with the MDP about signing, but were reluctant to abandon the troubled party in such a large group.

The opposition figures followed in the wake of former opposition MP Alhan Fahmy in an exodus to the other side of the country’s political divide.

DRP MPs including Ahmed Nihan, currently working closely alongside the Z-DRP faction of the opposition critical of party leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, claimed that the MPs were switching sides solely for financial payoffs, though an MDP official insisted no such transactions had taken place.

However, dismissed DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer has submitted a case to the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accusing the MDP of bribing opposition MPs to join the party.

Speaking during the rally held at Male’s artificial beach last night, Waheed reportedly accepted that he had criticised the president and the MDP in the past, but said that he now stood with them nonetheless.

“I was one of the strongest critics of President Nasheed,” he was reported as saying in newspaper Haveeru. “But I am right here at this podium; being able to criticise everyone is one of the fundamental aspects of democracy.”

Addressing the crowds afterwards, President Nasheed reportedly said that Ali Waheed would be welcomed to the party and could potentially take a senior position within the party following his switch.

Nasheed talked of the significance of having a political majority for the MDP and claimed that the party’s influence on parliament would need to be used responsibly and with respect to others in the Majlis.

Waheed along with DRP spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef and opposition leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali were unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News this morning.

Shareef has previously acknowledged that Waheed had served as a rising star in the DRP, and his loss would be a “great blow”.

Changing political landscape

The recent election of another former opposition MP – Alhan Fahmy – to the deputy leadership of the ruling party may be a key factor in luring ambitious MPs from the troubled opposition. However if rumours of money changing hands proved true, several MDP members have privately expressed concern that this risked unsettling grassroots members loyal to the ruling party from the beginning.

Further discontent is likely on the islands among those constituents who voted for a party, rather than the MP.

The MDP also risks importing potential skeletons into the party along with the MP, such as the case with former Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Hassan Adhil who is currently under house arrest and facing charges of child molestation.

Furthermore, the departure of MPs loyal to Thasmeen’s faction will place further pressure on the more prosaic side of the opposition, limiting its ability to resist the leadership ambitions of Gayoom’s far less compromising ‘Z-Faction’ and risks greater destabilisation of the opposition.

The MDP has however struggled to pass legislation in the opposition-majority parliament, and is fervently seeking to tip the balance in its favour and gain control of the legislature to push through difficult bills such as the revised penal code, evidence bill, and income tax for people earning over Rf30,000.

Taking control of parliament is a major victory for both the MDP and the government, and potentially marks the end of the ‘scorched earth’ politics in the Majlis that led to the en-masse resignation of cabinet ministers in July last year.

While the Maldives has a presidential system of government on paper, the constitution hands significant powers to parliament – particularly oversight of independent institutions. Control of the voting floor gives the MDP levers with which to address the challenges facing the judiciary and independent institutions in the country.

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Ali Waheed resigns from DRP, while MDP plans signing ceremony

Deputy Leader and MP of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ali Waheed has submitted his resignation letter to the DRP Office this morning, amid rumors that he is about to join ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Relevant sources have confirmed to Minivan News that Waheed submitted his resignation to the DRP Office this morning, and that the MDP will hold a special ceremony tomorrow night where Waheed will sign with the MDP.

Ali Waheed has not been responding to calls from any media since rumours of his decision began to circulate last weekend. He has so far only said that if he makes a political decision, he will make it publicly to the media and the people.

A senior MDP official speaking on condition of anonymity told Minivan News that Waheed will join MDP tomorrow night, “along with two other DRP MPs.”

He also claimed that the MPs were not joining the MDP for money, as claimed by the opposition’s Gayoom faction MP Ahmed Nihan earlier this week.

”They decided to join the MDP because of the internal conflict in their party,” the source said. “The MPs feel worried and insecure, so they are moving towards a direction where they have a future,” he said. ”Due to this internal conflict in the party the MPs on the side of DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali in particular are very concerned. Those MPs did not shift sides for cash, they are very loyal to Thasmeen.”

He said that Thasmeen and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will try and hold the remaining MPs in the party, but said that the MPs were “very concerned and worried about their future.”

”If Gayoom wants to run for the presidency during the next elections, he will have to do it right, according to the party’s charter,” the source said.

DRP Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef recently told Minivan News that rumours of Waheed’s impending departure were “propaganda to try to discredit some of us in the party.”

“Ali Waheed is a rising star with widespread support, and it would be a great blow to the party if he were to leave,” Shareef acknowledged.

Thasmeen meanwhile told Minivan News that he would not believe Waheed had joined MDP until he saw it actually happen.

Changing political landscape

The recent election of another former opposition MP – Alhan Fahmy – to the deputy leadership of the ruling party may be a key factor in luring ambitious MPs from the troubled opposition. However if rumours of money changing hands proved true, several MDP members have privately expressed concern that this risked unsettling grassroots members loyal to the ruling party from the beginning. Further discontent is likely on the islands among those constituents who voted for a party, rather than the MP.

The MDP also risks importing potential skeletons into the party along with the MP, such as the case with former Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Hassan Adhil who is currently under house arrest and facing charges of child molestation.

Furthermore, the departure of MPs loyal to Thasmeen’s faction will place further pressure on the more prosaic side of the opposition, limiting its ability to resist the leadership ambitions of Gayoom’s far less compromising ‘Z-Faction’ and risks greater destabilisation of the opposition.

The MDP has however struggled to pass legislation in the opposition-majority parliament, and is fervently seeking to tip the balance in its favour and gain control of the legislature to push through difficult bills such as the revised penal code, evidence bill, and income tax for people earning over Rf30,000.

Control of parliament would also give the MDP levers with which to address the challenges facing the judiciary and independent institutions in the country.

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Z-DRP faction files case against MDP with Anti-Corruption Commission

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has filed a case in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing the party of bribing opposition MPs to join the party.

A senior member of Gayoom’s faction of the opposition and former Deputy Leader of the DRP, Umar Naseer, sent a letter to the Anti-Corruption Commission stating that ‘’offering money to an MP to shift parties is nothing less than an act of corruption.’’

The letter alleges that former DRP Deputy Leader and MP Ali Waheed, who resigned from the MP today, was bribed with “millions of rufiya”.

Naseer called on the ACC to monitor the bank accounts of Ali Waheed, his friends and family to assure that there was no corruption involved in Waheed’s decision to join MDP.

Umar Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press while MP Ahmed Nihan and MP Ahmed Mahlouf were unavailable.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night MDP has said it will hold a special ceremony during which Ali Waheed publicly sign with the party.

Ali Waheed has not officially confirmed his decision to the media, however, senior MDP officials have confirmed that it will happen.

Aside from Ali Waheed, two other DRP MPs will sign with MDP tomorrow night during the special ceremony.

A Z-DRP faction senior official also told Minivan News that Ali Waheed and Hassan Shujau, a DRP council member, decided to join MDP after they were offered millions of rufiya “and other assets”.

Hassan Shujau has been now appointed as the State Transport Minister, days after he decided to join MDP.

MDP Secretary General Ahmed Shah and Spokesperson of MDP Ahmed Haleem did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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MDP recruiting spree includes DRP officials and supporters

President Mohamed Nasheed has appointed former council member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Hassan Shujau, as state transport minister, amid a recruitment spree that has netted the ruling party a number of senior opposition members.

Reports that Shujau and DRP MP Ali Waheed were planning to join the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) began circulating last weekend. The party confirmed Shujau had joined, although Waheed has remained silent on his decision, telling media that any political decisions would “be made publicly”.

This week Minivan News was told by a senior official of Z-DRP faction that both Ali Waheed and Shujau were to join MDP for an amount of money which is “so high that they won’t need to work ever again if they accepted.’’

Yesterday a special ceremony was held at the President’s Office to appoint Shujau to his new post, during which President Nasheed said that he was confident that Shujau had the capability to fulfill his responsibility as the state transport minister.

Nasheed also said he was pleased that Shuaju has made his decision to join the government and implement its manifesto after being affiliated with another political party.

Nasheed has also appointed Sheikh Gubaadh Abubakur, a former senior member of the DRP member and one time close ally of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as undersecretary in the President’s Office.

After the government confirmed Shujau’s decision to join MDP, speculation has risen that Waheed would join as well.

Local media reports that a special ceremony is pending to mark the signing of MP Waheed, a move DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef has acknowledged would be “a great blow” to the party.

“Ali Waheed is a rising star with widespread support, and it would be a great blow to the party if he were to leave,” Shareef said recently.

Meanwhile several opposition figures have begun criticising Ali Waheed for his supposed decision.

Local media reported that Z-DRP faction MP Ahmed Nihan had condemned Waheed and said that if he signed with MDP, “he is betraying those people who elected him as their MP.”

Leader of DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told Minivan News that he did not believe Waheed would join the ruling party after running for parliament on a DRP ticket.

Furthermore, MDP confirmed that former Human Rights Commissioner of the Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Saleem has joined the party.

“When I ran for the membership of HRCM, they issued a three-line whip to vote for me. They backed me when I ran for the membership of MBC’s board as well,” said Saleem, who was voted out of the position by the opposition majority parliament.

“I served the government for 42 years yet they rendered me unneeded. But MDP supported me even then.”

The DRP is currently riven by an internal political split as a faction loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom have sought to oust party leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, who has fallen out of favour with the party’s founder and ‘honorary leader’.

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DRP MP Ali Waheed to join ruling MDP, claims senior party member

A senior member of  the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)’s Z-DRP faction has confirmed to Minivan News that the party’s Deputy Leader and Council Member Ali Waheed is shortly to join the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Head of the DRP’s sports wing, Hassan Shujau, will also join the ruling party along with Waheed, the source said.

The opposition figure confirmed that the pair were shifting sides “after receiving offers that, if they accept, will allow them to live the rest of their lives without doing any work.”

Rumours of Waheed’s possible jump to the MDP began circulating in the media over the weekend.

MDP Parliamentary Group’s former spokesperson, MP Ahmed Shifaz, told Minivan News that Ali Waheed was “99 percent likely to join MDP.”

”Ali Waheed is very, very close to joining MDP,” said Shifaz. ”But I do not have any information that he has joined as of yet.”

Recently MDP Deputy Leader and MP Alhan Fahmy was quoted in local newspaper Haveeru as saying ”the next time I step foot on this land it will be with Ali Waheed.”

Alhan, himself a former opposition MP and now the deputy leader of the ruling party, was speaking at an MDP rally held in Waheed’s North Ari Atoll constituency of Thoddu.

Waheed kept media silence amidst the spread of the rumours that he was intending to shift parties.

Leader of the DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said that he could not believe Waheed would join MDP “unless I see him join.”

”I don’t believe that he will join MDP after getting elected to the parliament on DRP ticket,” Thasmeen said, refusing to speculate on what Waheed’s departure would mean for the party.

DRP Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef said that Waheed had not signed, “and still remains a deputy leader of the DRP. This is propaganda to try to discredit some of us in the party.”

However, “Ali Waheed is a rising star with widespread support, and it would be a great blow to the party if he were to leave,” Shareef acknowledged.

Waheed’s decision comes at a time when the opposition is torn by factional strife, between leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and the ‘Z-DRP’ faction organised around former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who remains the ‘Honorary Leader’ of the party he founded since announcing his political retirement in February 2010.

The DRP’s internal troubles were “not a matter of factions – this is something much deeper,” said Shareef.
The DRP deputy leader suggested that the split was linked to the ideological difference of overthrowing the government through violence rather than electoral victory.
“When we have criticised the government for bad policy, many times they have listened to us. Street action and protests should be the last resort, and even then it should be peaceful protest and not violent disruption of ordinary peoples’ lives. We do not want to polarise this country further,” Shaeef said.

“It is very sad that our Honorary Leader believes that the opposition can under no circumstances support the policies of the government, even if they are good. This is a government elected by the people, and we must honour their decision, and accept it.”

Shareef also expressed concern at criticism leveled at Thasmeen by former President Gayoom, on his arrival to Male’ on the weekend.
“It is very sad, especially given that our honorary leader, who has served for the past 30 years, should now put his own interests before those of the country,” Shareef said.
“They are of the opinion that it is the duty of the opposition to violently overthrow the government. For us, it is not- our objective is to regain power, not by overthrowing the democratically-elected government but by putting forward policy, showing what the government is doing wrong, and reflecting the aspirations of the people. We want this country to prosper. If a policy is good we should support it.”
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DRP deputy seeks audience with president over gang fears

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP and Deputy Leader, Ali Waheed, has reportedly met with President Mohamed Nasheed in Male’ over fears of growing gang violence across the country.

According to Haveeru, the meeting with Nasheed occurred yesterday at his official residence on the behest of Ali Waheed in an attempt to raise concerns over violence linked to gangs. No official confirmation of the exact outcome of the talks has been given as yet.

However, upon departing from the president’s Muleeage residence, Ali Waheed told the newspaper that the discussion had been focused on perceived increases in gang violence.

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Criminal Court summons DRP MPs Ali Waheed and Mahlouf

The Criminal Court has ordered main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Ali Waheed and Ahmed Mahlouf to appear before the court to face charges of obstruction of police duty.

Mahlouf told Minivan News today that the case was most likely regarding a DRP protest held outside the presidential residence Muleeage earlier this year that led to violent confrontations with riot police.

”Yesterday Ali Waheed and I received a chit from the Criminal Court saying that a hearing would be conducted on the 29th [Monday],” he received. ”It stated that the charges were ‘obstructing police duty’.”

The DRP MP for Galolhu North added that ”unlike president Mohamed Nasheed, we do not go breaking laws one after the other.”

”That night we were not obstructing police duties and we were not engaging in any unlawful activities,” he insisted. “We were exercising our right to free expression and freedom of assembly.”

Mahlouf said that he was “very pleased” that President Nasheed decided to prosecute him because ”the international community would understand how democratic Nasheed is.”

”He says he would never arrest [opposition] politicians, but he is arresting and charging young politicians and MPs in the country,” he said.

The DRP protest in January that marched to Muleeage turned violent, resulting in injuries to both police officers and demonstrators.

Following the unrest, Ali Waheed and Mahloof were summoned to police headquarters and questioned about their role in the protest.

At the time, Mahloof and Ali Waheed, also DRP Deputy Leader, exercised their right to remain silent.

Regulations currently in place on public gatherings, enforced by presidential decree under the former government, prohibits demonstrations outside certain designated areas, including Muleeage and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters.

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