Tag: former president mohamed nasheed

MDP appoints 1000 election observers as campaign spreads across country

With less than 23 days to go ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has claimed it remains confident of a first round victory with four campaign teams supported by thousands of volunteers working across the country.

MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said the party’s campaign was going “extremely well”.

“We have four campaign teams working round the clock throughout the country. We have a team that includes the parliamentary group, a team led by the running mate (Dr Musthafa Luthfy), a team led by the Speaker of Parliament (Abdulla Shahid) and a team led by Nasheed himself,” Ghafoor said.

Ghafoor described the MDP’s campaign team as “a government in the awakening” that comprised of members of the former MDP-led government fighting against those who ousted them, in a battle to “win back justice”.

Speaking during a previous campaign rally, former President Mohamed Nasheed asserted that the results of the elections are clear and that the Elections Commission should not worry about the possibility of a run-off election.

“We will not need to go for a second round. Tune onto your radios, subscribe for cable TV and pay your cable bills, for this picture by the will of God, is being witnessed throughout the country,” Nasheed claimed. “Mohamed Nasheed of Galolhu ward Keneryge will win this election with 121,000 votes in the first round.”

Gahfoor said today that the party fully expected to receive 57 percent of the vote, though Nasheed’s rivals in the campaign have all expressed similar confidence ahead of the first round. He claimed that the figure was based on the party’s door to door campaigns and the data collected from the regional campaign coordinators and campaign agents stationed throughout the country.

Thousands of people turned out to hear Nasheed speak earlier this week during a rally held to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Black Friday in 2004, when government security forces attacked anti-Gayoom protesters.

Ghafoor is himself a coordinator for the regions Shaviyani Atoll, Raa Atoll and Laamu Atoll which comprises 13 parliamentary constituencies, contended that out of the 8,000 people who registered themselves to vote outside the region, more than 50 percent had pledged their vote to former President Nasheed.

“When the coup was brought about, our government’s popular support stood around 50 percent. After the coup and the unveiling of all the hypocrisy with the change of government, our support base currently stands beyond 55 percent,” he claimed.

Polling and Policies

Meanwhile, MDP announced that is planning to place more than a thousand election observers throughout the country, an average of four observers per ballot box.

Ghafoor added that work was underway to train the observers ahead of the elections: “We will not tolerate any attempts by this unelected government to influence the vote. We are very cautious and very prepared for that,” he said.

Ahead of the campaign, the former ruling party has launched series of election policies as part of its mini-manifesto. The policies, said the party, were planned to boost the crippled economy and increase the number of jobs available to young people.

Examples of the policies have included more sports facilities, higher enrolments in higher education, the development of a mari-culture industry, and improvements to the country’s internal agriculture trade in order to reduce the country’s huge import bill.

The MDP also proposed a guest house policy which is intended to double the number of tourist arrivals in the country within the next three years, creating more job opportunities while also improving the quality of living across the islands.

With less than a month for the elections, Ghafoor claimed that the party’s strong policies and intense campaigning gave them the edge over the remaining candidates.

“MDP will easily win the elections securing the needed 50 percent plus 1 vote. I still believe PPM will be trailing behind us. I don’t think it will be a close contest. Waheed and Gasim will probably secure the third and fourth positions,” he said.

Asked if the possibility of involvement of large sums of money given to voters could affect the possible outcome of the election results, Ghafoor claimed that vote buying would not have much of an impact.

“I think the people are more aware of the candidates running in the election. But we have to admit it, money plays a significant role in Maldivian voting culture. However, money cannot buy loyalty,” he said.

“PPM I believe will come second because it is lead by the former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He will obviously have loyal supporters. But it may be a different story when it comes to recruiting their young support base. Apart from Gayoom, both Gasim and even Waheed are using money to get votes,” he claimed.

Ghafoor also described the current election politics as that of a battle between the past and the future. He claimed that the remaining three candidates were proxies of former President Gayoom’s 30 year reign and had nothing new to offer to the people.

“This is a clash between the past and the future and we are the future,” he said.

Aerial view of the MDP’s August 12 rally near the tsunami monument:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKBJiOAnFVw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

DRP denies holding coalition talks with President Waheed’s election rivals

The government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has rejected allegations it ever considered forming a coalition to back a candidate other than President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

Local media quoted senior figures in the Jumhoree Party (JP) of accusing DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali of unsuccessfully trying to become the running mate of its presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim, before opting to side with the incumbent in May this year.

JP candidate Gasim, one of the country’s highest-profile business figures, has since formed his own coalition with the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) after they both defected from President Waheed’s ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition in July.

“Last minute” decision

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef today categorically denied that discussions had ever been held over backing any other candidate for this year’s election, claiming the decision to stand in a coalition with President Waheed has been made by the party’s council at the “last minute”.

“We were originally trying to run on our own [as a party] right up to the last minute,” he said. “However, it was decided to sacrifice [the party’s] ambitions for the sake of the nation.”

Shareef claimed that in comparison to the three other candidates preparing to contest this year’s election, President Waheed was not promising policies that could not be delivered under the current economy.

He accused Gasim, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate former President Mohamed Nasheed of being “very unrealistic” with their campaign promises.

“We are careful to make promises within the resources we have available and within the budget,” Shareef added.

Both the PPM and MDP have previously accused President Waheed of making development pledges outside the approved budget, while also alleging he had been using state resources to campaign for his own Gaumee Ihthihad Party (GIP).

According to Shareef, the ‘Forward with the nation’ also faced notable challenges in terms of limited party financing compared to other parties, accusing both the AP and DQP of defecting to Gasim’s coalition simply to secure an increased campaign budget.

“They went to the person who has money, while we are concerned with running an effective campaign,” he added.

Shareef said this year’s election was very much a “money game” that had affected the wider campaign atmosphere in the country, notably in how individual candidates were being portrayed in the media.

He expressed particular concern at the role the country’s media – often owned and controlled by political parties and business men – played in the electoral process.

Shareef argued that with media in the Maldives controlled by just a few powerful figures, it was difficult in the country’s fledgling democracy to effectively explain a candidate’s individual stand to the “ordinary public” and therefore allow them to make an informed decision and hold public figures to account.

On the campaign trail

A source in President Waheed’s campaign team told Minivan News that the defection of the AP and DQP from the ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition had required little change to the coalition’s campaign strategy, and that the party’s internal polling data suggested this had had a negligible impact on the coalition’s election chances.

The source said the departure of the AP in particular had actually increased the party’s support among the under 35 demographic.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Gasim in “better position” than Yameen for election victory, JP claims

The Jumhoree Party (JP), led by business tycoon and MP Gasim Ibrahim, has this week expressed confidence it will finish above the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in the first round of the upcoming presidential election – before securing a second round victory.

Speaking following the launch of the JP’s election manifesto, the party’s Policy Secretary Mohamed Ajmal said indicators like internal policy research had reaffirmed its supporters’ belief that MP Gasim was in a “better position” than PPM candidate Abdulla Yameen to secure the presidency.

The comments were made following the launch of the JP’s election manifesto, which places an emphasis on pre-school and university education, as well as introducing a so-called “holistic” taxation policy extending to individuals and businesses.

The PPM, formed by former autocratic President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has meanwhile maintained that MP Yameen and former President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), remain the only two candidates capable of winning the election – accusing Gasim of having to buy support in order to compete with them.

‘Jumhoree coalition’

Despite the claims, the JP has been working to consolidate its support base ahead of September’s poll, with the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) last month leaving a coalition with President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) to instead back Gasim.

With voting expected to commence a month today, MP Gasim has claimed in local media that the JP had over 30,000 members when including applications waiting to be approved by the country’s Election Commission (EC).

JP Policy Secretary Ajmal said the membership numbers were reflective of campaign visits to islands across the country in recent months, which highlighted that Gasim was seen as a “man of the people” ahead of the election.

He added that the addition of other high-profile politicians like one time PPM Deputy Leader Umar Naseer to the JP further highlighted the growing support for Gasim’s candidacy.

Alongside this support, Ajmal said he remained confident that the focus of the JP manifesto on issues such as tax reform would directly address key voter concerns about the current state of the economy.

Among these proposed reforms is a “holistic” approach to tax that would extend taxation beyond the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) and general GST introduced and expanded under the former government to include capital gains tax and income tax.

“With taxation, we hope to take a holistic approach to the bare minimum policy of tax we have with T-GST and GST,” Ajmal said.

He added that a JP government would also work to comply with International Monetary Funds (IMF) recommendations to balance the nation’s budget deficit. The IMF earlier this year expressed concern that without raising revenue and cutting expenditures, the Maldives risked exhausting its international reserves and sparking an economic crisis.

Ajmal said that while there were many ways to try and curb the budget deficit, the JP would favour what he called a “optimistic approach”.

“There is not a problem with raising revenue in the Maldives, the problem is in fact related to a lack of infrastructure,” he said. “The wealthy are not being taxed properly and there is an issue with the distribution of wealth in the nation.”

Ajmal claimed that with an estimated 60 to 70 percent of national income now being spent by the government on recurrent expenditure, the JP in government would look to curb the amount of borrowing undertaken by the state.

He claimed one solution would be reducing the state’s reliance on treasury bills by securing “low interest” development loans to try and reduce outgoing payments on national borrowing.  The spokesperson was not drawn on whether cuts would need to be made to the country’s civil service.

The JP meanwhile pledged that it would not be increasing the size of the country’s civil service as part of aims to curb recurrent expenditure to about 40 percent, focusing instead on investment in local infrastructure to try and raise revenue through the private sector.

With the JP presently serving within the coalition government of President Waheed following the controversial transfer of power in February 2012, Ajmal said he believed voters saw Gasim as an “individual” candidate, and not someone who would continue the economic policies of the present administration.

“Mr Gasim has always supported all governments, apart from the previous administration when he was betrayed by [former President] Mohamed Nasheed. We as a party are always concerned for the people,” he said. “We believe that voters don’t see us as part of the current government.”

Ajmal said that the party believed Gasim was an individual who voters would understand did not have the powers alone to affect the financial policy of the present government.

“Mr Gasim has supplied some US$10 million to US$12 million though the Villa Foundation on philanthropic matters,” he said.

Ajmal claimed that the ‘Jumhoree coalition’ backing Gasim election had now allowed the JP to position themselves as the “main alternative” to former President Nasheed for all voters wishing to oppose him.

JP coalition “no threat”: PPM

Ajmal’s claims were rejected by PPM MP Ahmed Nihan, who today dismissed any notion that the coalition backing Gasim’s presidency could pose a threat to his own party’s election campaign.

He added that the PPM was certain the presidency would be won by either its own candidate in Yameen or former President Nasheed.

Addressing the members of the ‘Jumhoree coalition’ backing Gasim, Nihan accused the religious conservative Adhalaath Party in particular of having “disintegrated” and no longer resembling the political party it was formed as in 2005.

“In 2005, soon after the election, [the AP] has huge support , but soon after they sold their beliefs to many parties including the MDP,” he alleged.

“Maybe tomorrow they will come knocking on our door,” Nihan added of the party.

As a further contrast to the JP, Nihan argued that only the PPM and MDP had supporters and activists working across islands all over the country that were fully “engaged” in election campaigning and making banners, sometimes at their own expense.

He claimed that during the party’s recent campaign tours, the PPM had not seen any similar support for Gasim, the JP or his coalition.

“[The JP] does not have campaigners all over the country. Gasim has had to pay people to work for him, where as we do not have to pay for support,” Nihan said.

Flying the flag

Taking the example of his own constituency in Vilimale’, Nihan claimed that Gasim had brought supporters across from the southerly Addu Atoll to come and put up banners “bought from China”, 60 percent of which he alleged had been put up across the one island.

The flags are said to have been set up in such significant quantities that one Vilimale’ resident told Minivan News: “On some roads, I can’t see the sky.”

Similar displays of flags and party colours have in recent months begun appearing across the capital of Male’, even resulting in a so-called ‘paint war’ between rival PPM and MDP supporters in June.

However, Nihan claimed that majority of flags and banners produced by the PPM had been handmade by local supporters, reflecting what he said highlighted the overriding popularity of the party in Maldivian politics.

“On [Vilimale’] we don’t see the support for Gasim, but the flags are certainly there,” he said.

Nihan agreed that Gasim did have “loyal” support in parts of the country, but said it would not be enough to challenge for a top two place during national polls.

“I express my gratitude to Gasim as a philanthropist, but his coalition partners will not provide the level of support we have,” he said. “He is spending millions on his campaign.”

Nihan was also critical of the JP’s proposed reforms to taxation, arguing that Gasim as both a parliamentarian and party leader had not previously advocated for increased taxation.

He accepted that before the foundation of the PPM, the majority of the party’s MPs – then belonging to the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) before a bitter split – had ultimately supported the introduction of taxation despite initial reservations.

Nihan said that the party’s initial reservations were based on the timing of introducing such taxation starting from 2011, adding that PPM candidate Yameen did support the introduction of tax despite wishing the matter had been handled differently.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former President Mohamed Nasheed to return from Umrah on Wednesday

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Presidential Candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed will be returning to Male’ after completing Umra pilgrimage in Mecca, reports local media outlet Channel News Maldives.

Nasheed left to Saudi Arabia last Saturday and spent the following two days in the pilgrimage. According to local media reports, the former president was accompanied by the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid and former Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad.

Meanwhile the MDP has said that a special event will be organised on next Wednesday to exhibit 100,000 photos taken during Nasheed’s trips to the islands.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

CNI statements made confidential “to protect evidence”: President’s Office

The President’s Office has declared that statements made to the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) concerning the legality of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s controversial ascension to power have been made confidential in order to protect those who testified to the commission.

Media Secretary of Presidents Office Masood Imad told local newspaper Haveeru that the CNI had agreed to protect those who gave evidence to the commission.

According to the government, President Waheed in March issued a presidential decree declared that all materials relating to the CNI would be declared a national secret and kept from the public.

“If the statements [given to the CNI] get published in public, [those who gave evidence to the commission] may face dangers and may be threatened. It is with the recommendation of the CNI panel as well that the statements had been made confidential,” claimed Masood.

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim told the newspaper that according to the presidential decree, the documents will be kept confidential and safely stored for a period of 25 years.

The defence minister said that the decision was made in adherence to Sections 22(b) and 22(c) of the Right to Information Regulation.

According to Section 22(b) exceptions to Right to Information include information which if released could prompt a lawsuit against the government for failing to ensure confidentiality, while Section 22(c) states that exception can also be made to withhold release of information if it would lead to difficulty for the government in obtaining similar information in the future.

According to Nazim, the president had given the defense ministry the responsibility on making the information confidential and keeping the assorted documents, audio, videos and photographs in the ministry’s custody.

“It hasn’t come to our hands as of yet. But we are working on bringing into our custody,” Nazim said.

Change in management

In late January 2012, a 22 day continuous anti-government protests led by then opposition figures and religious scholars following the controversial detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed escalated into a mutiny by certain elements within the police and the military.

By midday of February 7, 2012, then-President Nasheed had exhausted all his options to establish a chain of command within the ranks of police and military, and was left trapped inside the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) barracks surrounded by rebelling police and military forces along with an angry mob of anti-Nasheed demonstrators which had been armed by the security services.

The current Defense Minister Nazim – who was a civilian at the time – entered the barracks and gave an ultimatum to Nasheed, “resign or face the dire repercussions”, to which Nasheed conceded and resigned.

Then vice President Waheed subsequently ascended to power.

The following day, Nasheed and the MDP along with thousands of supporters took to the street in protest of the new regime change, but were met with harsh crackdown by what the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) later described as an “emotionally charged” police and military.

The national inquiry

In June 2012, following strong local and international pressure – primarily from the Commonwealth – President Waheed was forced to reformulate the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) to include representatives from the MDP and international community. The national inquiry commission included three members handpicked by Waheed, a Singaporean judge and a representative of former President Nasheed.

The commission interviewed several individuals as well as reviewed photographs, videos and other documents relating to the transfer of power which Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had alleged was a “bloodless coup d’état” that forced the first democratically elected president out of office.

Prior to the release of the commission’s findings, Nasheed’s nominee to the commission Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed resigned in protest from the commission contending that vital information concerning the power transfer was deliberately disregarded in order to achieve a certain outcome.

“I realised it was all going wrong,” Saeed said at a press conference held after his resignation.

In a letter he wrote to the commission’s co-chairs, Saeed cited concerns including the withholding of evidence, non-cooperation from crucial witnesses, non-examination of witnesses, witnesses being intimidated or obstructed, testimonies and evidence that was not reviewed, and organisation by the CNI secretariat.

The CNI went onto announce its finding in which it claimed there was neither a coup as alleged by the former ruling party MDP nor was there any substantial grounds to question the legitimacy of President Waheed’s ascension to power – much to the dismay of former President Nasheed and the MDP.

“In sum, the Commission concludes that there was no illegal coercion or intimidation nor any coup d’état. The Commission has received no evidence supporting or to substantiate these allegations. This disposes the main mandate of the Commission,” read the report. The report and the commission’s website were subsequently taken off-line.

CNI findings flawed

A subsequent legal analysis of the commission’s report on the request of the now opposition MDP by a team of high-profile Sri Lankan legal professionals – including the country’s former Attorney General – accused the commission of exceeding its mandate, selectively gathering and acting upon evidence, and failing to adequately address the fundamental issue with which it was charged: determining whether the former President resigned under duress.

“[The CNI] appears to have abdicated its duty to objectively and reasonably bring its collective mind to bear on whether or not there was duress involved in the purported resignation of President Nasheed,” concluded the detailed report.

The authors included two Sri Lankan Supreme Court attorneys – Anita Perera and Senany Dayaratne – and the former Sri Lankan Attorney General Shibly Aziz.

“The [CNI] Report offends the fundamental tenets of natural justice, transparency and good governance, including the right to see adverse material, which undermines the salutary tenets of the Rule of Law,” it claimed.

“Even by the yardstick of ‘coercion’ or illegal coercion which the [CNI] has incorporated for reasons one cannot fathom – given the clear mandate – ex facie the events accepted by the “[CNI] and without anything more, does strongly and convincingly establish the ‘coercion’ or ‘illegal coercion’, the yardstick chosen by the [CNI],” the report noted, in support for the claim of an illegitimate ousting of a legitimate head of state.

Parliamentary scrutiny

A review of the CNI report by Parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee – the parliamentary select-committee mandated with overseeing the government and its agencies – led to the announcement by the committee’s chair that the report was “flawed”.

The Committee Chair MP Ali Waheed told local media that many interviewed by the committee claimed it lacked “key information they had given to [the CNI panel]”.

“Some have even claimed their information was wrongly presented,” he said, while others who attended the committee [meeting] “have told us that key information they gave was missing from the CNI report, and said they did not accept its findings”.

Leaked statements

Dozens of statements given to the CNI were leaked to local media. Among the statements included those given by former President Nasheed and statements from senior officials from the military and police.

In one of the leaked statements, MNDF Staff Sergeant Shafraz Naeem – who was commanding ‘Bravo’, one of the Bandara Koshi Battalion riot squads that confronted the mutinying police – told the CNI that he had “lost faith in the institution” after the events.

“I took an oath to protect the country and the president; not to beat civilians or to mutiny. I did not take an oath to follow a mutinous general. I was never a big fan of Nasheed, but it did not matter to me who the President was that day. I would have done the same for any president,” read his statement.

“In my view this was a coup. Why? I could see it from the way they handled everything, their attitude, how cool and calm all the officers were. I could tell from how cool General Shiyam was inside the MNDF. They did nothing. This is not how a uniformed officer should behave,” he said.

Former President Nasheed’s leaked statement read – “In essence, my statement is very small. I was forced to resign. I resigned under duress. I was threatened. If I did not resign within a stipulated period it would endanger mine and my family’s life. I understood they were going to harm a number of other citizens, party members. They were going to literally sack the town. I felt that I had no other option, other than to resign.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

SAARC Audit report failed to account for grant aid: MDP

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has slammed an audit report on the expenses of the 2011 SAARC Summit released recently by the Auditor General, alleging the report was factually inaccurate and had based its findings on erroneous information.

The report (Dhivehi) –  compiled through audits of expenditure by the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the President’s Office and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) – revealed several financial discrepancies by then MDP-led government including an overspend of more than MVR 430 million (US$27.9 million) on the event’s allocated budget.

The report claimed that former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government spent MVR 667,874,870.84 (US$ 43.3 million) on the summit – 188.82 percent more than the MVR 231,240,000 (US$14.99 million) budget passed by parliament.

Others inconsistencies included payment of MVR 61.8 million (US$4 million) more the amount agreed for the construction of the Equatorial Convention Centre built for the summit, financial losses incurred by the government, violations of Public Finance Act and Public Finance Regulation and wasteful spending.

The Auditor General in the report also made several recommendations including the recovery of money spent, as well as urging action against those found responsible for the expenses.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed previously dismissed the political bickering by his opponents regarding the findings, contending that his government had not embezzled state funds but admitting it was possible money had been spent contrary to the Public Finance Act.

“Since the ratification of the 2008 constitution, and since the beginning of word to word enforcement of laws that came after the ratification, it is quite possible that there may be certain things carried out in contrast with the public finance act. This is because senior officials of the government wanted things to get done quickly,” Nasheed said at the time.

In a press conference held last Monday evening, MDP government’s Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam slammed the Auditor General over the findings, claiming he had been “negligent” and “irresponsible” in compiling the report.

He said that a state institution releasing such reports ahead of the presidential elections implicating a specific political group was “highly concerning”.

However despite the claims, Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim has disputed the claim that the timing of the audit report before the election was politically motivated, stating that the information contained in such reports was necessary for people to make informed decisions.

“Some fundamental elements have been disregarded as false information in the report. Some have even been labelled as unlawful [spending]. Other expenses have been presented in a very misleading manner. We have highlighted these issues to the Auditor General in a meeting held today,” Aslam said.

Responding to the Auditor General’s claim that the former government had overspent more than MVR 430 million (US$27.9 million), Aslam said the Indian government had provided grant aid of MVR 267 million (US$17.3 million), the South Korean government had given up to MVR 3 million (US$194,552.53) in grant aid, while an additional MVR 2 million (US$129,701.69) was given from a trust fund.

According to the former Minister, when the grant aid was accounted for the deficit stood at MVR 167 million (US$10.83 million), which had been settled by government’s contingency budget.

“The Auditor General is doing the math and arithmetic without taking these key figures into account. You simply can’t count apples and oranges and decide the total sum of both in apples. We see his findings something similar to counting apples in this manner,” Aslam said.

He also claimed that MVR 64 million (US$4.15 million) spent on building roads in both Addu City and Fuvahmulah was directed to improve the capacity of Southern Utilities Company Limited (SUL) because other companies who proposed to construct the road, including the government’s Maldives Transport and Construction Company (MTCC), were too expensive.

“The Auditor General claimed the government incurred financial losses by giving the project to SUL, and that the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) was actively involved in the construction work. And that government had paid SUL for the voluntary work carried out by the military personnel. What we are highlighting here is that if mathematically calculated, the amount spent on the project did not result in financial losses to the government,” Aslam said.

He acknowledged that MNDF officers “had a role” in constructing of the roads, but said that since Nasheed’s ousting in 2012 the work was not being carried out, and therefore there was nothing to pay.

He also questioned as to how the Auditor General came to the conclusion that the MNDF had contributed to 60 percent of the total work carried out to hold the SAARC Summit, stating that there was no justification given for the figure.

MDP MP and Lawyer Ahmed Hamza said he believed a possible reason for the report’s alleged inaccuracy was that the government had withheld certain financial records from the Auditor General, which would otherwise have substantiated the MDP’s account.

Auditor General responds

Responding to the allegations by the MDP, Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim told local media that the party’s allegations did not carry any weight and that it was “not the fault of the Auditor General if the government did not share certain documents with the auditors”.

“The allegations levelled against the Auditor General’s office do not carry any weight. Our reports are based on information received from government agencies and authorities. Likewise, the report on SAARC summit was compiled in a similar manner,” Niyaz said.

“The [MDP] is alleging that the current government was witholding information from us. We can’t do anything about that. We base our reports based on the  information we receive.”

Niyaz also said that if the MDP were having doubts over the accuracy of the reports – due to government’s failure to share of information – the matter should be raised with the relevant parliamentary oversight committees.

The reason behind allegations made against the audit reports by politicians were, Niyaz said, due to the lack of knowledge regarding how government finances were handled. He also expressed concern over attempts made by politicians to mislead the public.

The Auditor General also claimed that he had not released the reports with the intention to “bombard” a certain political camp, and contested that the mandate of his office was not to attack politicians.

“We execute our responsibilities and try to complete our work as soon as possible to hold governments accountable,” Niyaz said.

“Our job is to hold the government accountable. To ensure that the government strictly follows the law and due procedure in handling the finances of the state. I believe the parliament has a central role in enforcing the recommendations made in the audit reports. We have released almost 200 audit reports. But parliament has only decided to act on just two,” he noted.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“We will not follow unconstitutional orders, even if a new president is installed tomorrow”: Police Commissioner Riyaz

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said his institution will continue to refuse any orders it decides are “unconstitutional”, while expressing concerns over leaked proposals allegedly devised by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to reform the country’s security forces.

In an interview on the Maldives Police Service (MPS) website, Commissioner Riyaz expressed concern at a leaked policy paper that he alleged sought to dismantle and undermine law enforcement, calling for the opposition MDP to clarify if the policies were genuinely part of the party’s election policy.

“I don’t want to say anything specifically about something that has been prepared politically or for a political purpose, but we do have a constitution and the MPS is an institution formed by the constitution,” he said, speaking just over a month ahead of the 2013 presidential election.

Proposals in the paper – leaked on social media earlier this month – include transferring the police to the authority of city councils, similar to the system in the US, while providing salaries and allowances of officers through the Local Government Authority (LGA).

The MDP last week questioned the legitimacy of the leaked reform proposals, claiming the party had no knowledge of such a document, despite backing the idea of a ”transitional arrangement” to reform the country’s security forces after last year’s controversial transfer of power.

The opposition party continues to maintain that former President Mohamed Nasheed was deposed in a “coup d’etat” after being forced to resign from office following a mutiny by sections of the police and military.

The allegations were later rejected by a Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) that ruled that there had been “no coup, no duress and no mutiny”, while also calling for action taken against unlawful acts committed by the country’s security forces following the transfer.

“Dismantle” fears

Commissioner Riyaz, who took office immediately after the power transfer, said proposals in the leaked documents could not be implemented within regulations outlined under the Police Act.

The commissioner also rejected the professional capacity of individuals behind the reforms, which he claimed sought to “dismantle” and undermine the large role security services play in the country.

“I’d like to tell the MDP that they should clarify whether it is their policy or not. If it is their policy, it is of great concern. This [police] institution will be very concerned,” he said. “Politicians should not try to play with this institution. Help this institution develop. Work to make this institution more responsible. To make it operationally accountable. Don’t use political influence to carry out political objectives through this institution.”

Riyaz alleged that certain senior government figures over the last three years had attempted to limit or weaken police in the country through the use of political influence that led to officers “straying from their path”.

He insinuated that police would not allow a similar event to happen again.

With an estimated 3,500 individuals employed within the MPS, including a large number of families, Riyaz questioned whether any political leader would seek to “discredit” the institution.

“I don’t believe that someone who is working to become the leader of this country will do this because of these reasons.  This country will do this because of these reasons,” he said. “To maintain law and order in the country, firstly no one can govern, unless they are able to maintain law and order.”

Commissioner Riyaz added that the mandate of the police was set out in the constitution, adding that any reforms to the institution’s work could only be enacted by a two-thirds majority in parliament.

“We remain firm. We will not follow any unconstitutional orders, even if a new president is instated tomorrow,” he said during the interview. “Even if I’m not here, the rest will also not follow these orders. Maldivian politicians should know this. I believe they do.”

“Whichever individual becomes President tomorrow can no longer just change the constitution, the existing law. That individual, holding the presidency,  can only bring such big changes with a parliamentary majority.”

When contacted to clarify the comments within the interview, Commissioner Riyaz today forwarded inquiries to Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef.

Chief Inspector Haneef defined an unconstitutional order for the police as something that contradicted Maldivian law.

“Operationally we are independent. We do not follow political orders, but we follow the country’s law,” Haneef said.

He added that officers would refuse to follow orders “outside the law” whether they were issued by a president, or a superior officer.

Asked who was responsible for determining whether a particular order was unconstitutional, Haneef said the decision would be made in accordance with regulations outlined in the Police Act, as well as official codes and procedures outlined by the MPS itself.

“It is very clear within the Police Act [as to how a constitutional order] is defined,” he said. “Every person must be accountable for the orders they give.”

At times of press, Minivan News was awaiting a response from the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) over the correct procedure for reforms and the definition of an “unconstitutional order”.

Reform mandate

Speaking last week, MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor personally dismissed having knowledge of the leaked paper on police reforms, despite claiming that the opposition party had considered the need for a “transitional agreement” for reforms of the country’s security forces based on recommendations raised in last year’s CoNI report.

With the CoNI process concluded, Ghafoor accused the Commonwealth and the wider international community of failing to ensure reforms to strengthen democratic institutions called for in the report’s findings were met.

He alleged that the MPS had failed to fully be transferred from a militarised to civil institution dating back to the administration of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s before the country’s first multi-party democratic election in 2008.

“Gayoom had moved to separate the military and police into different bodies. In the end, he failed to do this adequately,” Ghafoor said.

Despite pledging to reform the police and military, the MDP said it was not planning a “witch-hunt”.

According to Ghafoor, the MDP was instead focused on trying to secure a “huge election majority” in order to carry out reforms with the mandate of the public.

“This will help solve everything,” he said at the time.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

EC confirms presidential election to be monitored by EU/Commonwealth delegations

The Elections Commission (EC) has confirmed observers from both Commonwealth and EU countries will monitor the upcoming presidential election, but has said the exact number of officials overseeing polling will not be known until later this week.

EC Vice President Ahmed Fayaz has told Minivan News that a delegation of observers representing the Commonwealth, several members states of the EU and a number of other nations had expressed interest in observing September’s voting.

He added that once the final number of observers had been confirmed, the registered foreign nationals would be free to monitor polling across the country to determine how voting was being carried out.

Minivan News was awaiting a response from the Commonwealth Secretariat at time of press considering the organisation’s plans for observing the upcoming vote.

Complaints bureau

Besides determining the number of international monitors expected to be present in the country during polling, Fayaz said the EC had also now established a national complaints bureau tasked with dealing with any issues or concerns about campaigning by various candidates.

Despite citing initial “logistical difficulties” that limited the bureau’s work, he added that the EC was now accepting complaints concerning any potential issues affecting this year’s election.

“The bureau has started work already and will deal with all complaints related to campaigns or candidates in the election,” Fayaz said.

He added that complaints could be submitted to the EC by phone, e-mail or forms available on the commission’s official website. The complaints bureau itself is based on the second floor of the Port Complex Building, the same location as the EC Secretariat.

With voting scheduled to take place on September 7, the EC also this week determined the order by which candidates would appear on the ballot paper.

The four candidates from top to bottom are Gasim Ibrahim (Jumhoree Party), Dr Mohamed Waheed (independent, incumbent president), Abdulla Yameen (Progressive Party of the Maldives) and Mohamed Nasheed (Maldivian Democratic Party, former President).

Yameen and Gasim attended the ceremony to announce the ballot order, according to local media.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Jumhoree Party backtracks on challenging Nasheed’s candidacy in Supreme Court

Jumhoree Party (JP) Youth Wing President Moosa Anwar has backtracked on an earlier declaration that he would seek to challenge the Elections Commission’s decision to accept former President Mohamed Nasheed as a presidential candidate in the upcoming election through the Supreme Court.

Hours after making the announcement Anwar reversed his decision, stating that he had been advised to do so by Jumhoree Party officials after he was unable to convince an attorney to take the case.

Anwar lodged a similar lawsuit at the then interim Supreme Court contesting the candidacy of Nasheed prior to the 2008 presidential elections.

Anwar previously contested that Nasheed had been convicted and sentenced for theft in 2001 for taking documents that were to be disposed from Velaanaage, the house belonging to former President Ibrahim Nasir – without permission.

According to media reports at the time, Nasheed attended the auction of the house in October 2001 along with then Minister for Construction and Public Works Umar Zahir and his Assistant Director Ibrahim Fayaz.

Nasheed pulled out scraps of discarded paper from the waste of the partially demolished house, which he later packed and labelled for donation to the National Council of Linguistic and Historical Research.

“They laughed and joked as Nasheed pulled scraps of discarded paper from the dust and rubble of the partially demolished house. Minister Rashida Yusuf was delighted when she recognised former President Nasir’s children’s schoolwork that had been marked by her when she had been his teacher many years ago,” read a special report by the Maldives Culture website.

“These papers were collected by Nasheed who later packed and labelled them for donation to the National Council of Linguistic and Historical Research. It was at this point that Nasheed was arrested and held in solitary confinement for a month before being charged and found guilty of theft, and then sentenced to two and a half years exile in Raa Atoll, away from his family and children who live in Male’. The whole process was over in about two and half hours. Mohamed Nasheed had never admitted to the charges of theft, and the judge denied him his legal rights to present his case or respond to the charges made against him,” according to Maldives Culture’s account of the incident.

The prosecution succeeded in removing Nasheed from his seat in parliament –  a move labelled as politically motivated by various international human rights watchdogs.

An appeal in 2002 against the conviction was rejected by the government – which at the time was also the head of judiciary – despite the attorneys who examined the case pointing to grave flaws in the judgement.

Anwar meanwhile contended that the former president’s conviction was a hadd offence under Islamic Sharia and therefore, Nasheed did not satisfy the criteria set out in constitution for a person to hold the office of president.

Article 109(E) of the constitution demands that a person who holds the office of the president and those that are contesting for the post of presidency must “not have been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of more than 12 months, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his release, or pardon for the offence for which he was sentenced”.

The then interim Supreme Court ruled in favour of the former president and declared the Elections Commission’s decision to accept his candidacy as valid, stating that Nasheed’s sentence was not a Hadd offence but a Ta’zir offence under Islamic Sharia.

Under Islamic Sharia law, unlike a Hadd offence which the punishment is prescribed in the holy Quran, Ta’zir offences are punishments applied to the other offences for which no punishment is specified in the Qur’an. It is a lesser degree of offence compared to Hadd offences, and the punishment varies depending on the discretion of the judge or the Qazi.

Anwar told Minivan News today that his latest petition at the Supreme Court would be based on the same grounds with which he challenged Nasheed’s candidacy in 2008. He claimed that he did not believe that Nasheed was eligible to contest in the presidential polls and would lodge the case as soon as the Elections Commission formally announced the candidates list.

Anwar’s submission comes after the five day deadline given by Election Commission regulations to challenge the candidacy of potential presidents. Anwar however had a different interpretation.

“Even back in 2008, I was able to file the case after the time frame given by the Elections Commission. Therefore, I do not believe there was any deadline to file such a case concerning a presidential candidate,” he told Minivan News.

Anwar said he had made several requests to attorneys registered at the Supreme Court to take up the case, but said they were all “too scared” over how “emotional” President Nasheed and his party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters are.

Therefore, Anwar claimed that he would go all by himself to the Supreme Court, and utilise his “knowledge of the law” during his years spent studying at the faculty of Sharia and Law of the Maldives National University.

“I think it is a problem that our lawyers, judges, police and the military are so afraid of a single individual or a political organisation,” Anwar said, referring to Nasheed and the MDP.

Meanwhile, President Nasheed’s Spokesperson MP Mariya Ahmed Didi told Minivan News that the Supreme Court had previously set strong precedents upholding the Article 60 of the constitutions which prohibits double jeopardy.

Overturning parliament’s deposing of Chair of Civil Service Commission Mohamed Fahmy, the Supreme Court upheld the principle of prohibiting double jeopardy, contending that Fahmy would receive two punishments for the same crime if he was to be removed from his position over the alleged sexual harassment case which is currently looked into by the Prosecutor General.

Therefore, Didi contended that she was confident that the Supreme Court would not accept the case as it was previously decided by the Supreme Court in 2008.

She further claimed that Nasheed’s rival in the election, resort tycoon and presidential hopeful Gasim Ibrahim, was behind the submission of the case, suggesting the move was a desperate ploy in the face of Nasheed’s broad electoral popularity.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)