Gasim Ibrahim – Page 10 – Minivan News

Maldives protestors hijack Twitter hashtag: Telegraph

“More than 50 Maldivian companies are attending this week’s event at London’s ExCel convention centre, where they hope to promote the Indian Ocean archipelago as an idyllic holiday destination,” writes Oliver Smith for the UK’s Telegraph.

Instead they may be asked to explain to visitors why the event’s official Twitter hashtag has been inundated with photos of the victims of alleged police brutality and tweets claiming democracy has been destroyed in the country.

Many of the messages are aimed at Qasim Ibrahim, one of the country’s richest businessmen and the owner of several luxury holiday resorts. Mr Ibrahim came third in the first round of voting for September’s presidential election, behind former president Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically-elected leader who was overthrown in an alleged coup last year, and a third candidate, Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives. But Mr Ibrahim was able to convince the country’s Supreme Court to annul the vote, alleging electoral fraud, despite both the EU and the Commonwealth declaring the poll free and fair.

Others Twitter users utilised the hashtag to repeat claims made by Mr Nasheed that he was overthrown at the behest of resort owners. Others urge a tourist boycott of the country – something Mr Nasheed has also called for in the past. Tourism accounts for around a third of the country’s GDP.”

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JP, PPM agree to sign voter registry

Presidential candidates of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) have agreed to sign the voter registry prepared for the November 9 presidential election following a meeting with President Dr Mohamed Waheed this morning.

PPM candidate Abdulla Yameen and JP candidate Gasim Ibrahim told the press upon emerging from the President’s Office that representatives have been sent to the Elections Commission (EC) to begin signing the voter lists.

Obtaining the signature of candidates or their representatives on all voter lists used at polling stations was among the 16-point guidelines imposed by the Supreme Court judgment annulling the September 7 election, whilst the re-vote scheduled for October 19 was obstructed by the police after the JP and PPM refused to approve the voter registry.

Yameen told reporters that the candidates supported holding the second round if necessary on November 10 if the EC had no objections. Both candidates stressed the importance of concluding the polls before the end of the current presidential term on November 11.

While the PPM and JP threatened not to sign the lists yesterday citing issues with the re-registration process, both candidates said today that they wished to see the election take place on Saturday.

President by 11th, ‘God willing’

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate, former President Mohamed Nasheed, meanwhile went to the EC immediately after the meeting to begin signing the lists.

At a press conference shortly after the meeting, President Waheed expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the discussions and assured the government’s cooperation to the EC.

“My prayer is for one of [the candidates] to succeed in this election – that way, God willing, an elected president can assume office on November 11,” he said.

“We discussed what to do if neither candidate is elected in the first round. All of them agreed that the best way would be holding the second round as soon as possible. They said they want the second round to be held on November 10, or at the latest November 11. So I also support that proposal. We must hold the election as soon as possible and hand over the presidency to the president-elect,” he continued.

As the Maldives was at “a critical juncture,” President Waheed said he discussed a way forward in the event that there is no president-elect on November 11.

“However, all of them agreed that the only solution was to hold the election on 10 or 11 to elect a president,” he added.

Decisions yet to be made

Asked repeatedly if he would stay on after November 11, President Waheed refused to categorically state that he would resign at the end of the term.

“I am hoping that it would not come to that. So if we do not have a [president-elect] by the 11th, a decision about what to do has not been made yet,” he said.

“I told the three candidates that a solution for this was in their hands. We can even find a legal solution. But the real solution would be a political solution. The power to resolve this is in their hands. I told them to bring a constitutional amendment through the People’s Majlis,” he said.

“That is the best way according to the legal advice I have received so far. They have that power. The constitution can be amended even tomorrow after convening the Majlis.”

On October 27, parliament approved a proposal by the MDP for the Speaker of Parliament to assume the presidency if there is no president-elect by midnight on November 10.

The resolution was proposed in response to a letter to Speaker Abdulla Shahid from President Waheed requesting parliament “to take initiative in finding a solution to any legal issues that will arise if a new president is not elected by the end of the current term.”

While President Waheed had insisted that he does not wish to “stay in this position even a day beyond November 11,” Yameen and Gasim have publicly appealed for the president to remain in office until the presidential election could be concluded.

Asked whether he accepted the legitimacy of the parliament resolution, President Waheed said he was advised that the proper solution would be amending the constitution “as this is a constitutional issue” that was not explicitly addressed in the constitution.

“Uncharted territory”

Speaking to Minivan News prior to the meeting, Nasheed said the country would enter “unchartered territory” if the election is not held on Saturday, insisting that his former vice president must resign for the speaker to assume office as a caretaker president.

“And I also feel that if the security forces tries to obstruct the elections process, there’s bound to be scuffles. There’s bound to be disturbances. And I’m sure the international community is increasingly losing patience. And from our interactions with them, it is very clear they have a recipe on how to deal with the situation when it comes to that,” he said.

He added that the re-scheduled polls on October 19 were not obstructed by the entire police institution, “but rogue elements, mutinous elements within the police and military”.

Nasheed also criticised the rival candidates for declaring that Waheed should remain in office after November 11.

“They want to maintain their coup government. They want to maintain it. In the meantime, they want to change the balance in the parliament by extra judiciary actions, by removing members of parliament, and therefore they will want to create a situation where they change the Elections Commission and then also remove candidates, including myself, and then have a façade of an election,” he said.

“I think that is what they are working on and that is their intention. The evidence is very clear now,” he said.

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President Waheed invites presidential candidates to discuss election issues

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has invited the three presidential candidates for a meeting at the President’s Office to “discuss important issues regarding the presidential election.”

All three candidates have reportedly accepted the invitation for the meeting due to take place at 11:30am on Wednesday (November 6).

The President’s Office has informed local media that discussions will focus on “a political solution” for interim arrangements in the absence of a president-elect at the end of the current presidential term on November 11.

Last month, parliament approved a proposal by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for the Speaker of Parliament to assume the presidency if there is no president-elect by midnight on November 10.

As a possible second round of the presidential election has been scheduled by the Elections Commission (EC) for November 16, President Waheed’s letter (Dhivehi) noted that “there is a possibility there might not be a president elected in accordance with article 111 of the constitution.”

While President Waheed has insisted that he does not wish to “stay in this position even a day beyond November 11,” the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen and Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim have publicly appealed for the president to remain in office until the presidential election could be concluded.

PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen reportedly said last month that it would be “irresponsible” for President Waheed to resign before a new president was elected.

The PPM parliamentary group leader called on Waheed to remain in the post and cease making statements about resigning.

Gasim Ibrahim meanwhile recently suggested that handing power over to the military would be preferable, claiming that the EC was biased in favour of the MDP and wanted Speaker Shahid – who joined the MDP in April – to assume the presidency.

“Is it better for a man who is selected to assume the presidency? Or the military? What is the difference? On one side they are stealing [the presidency] and doing things outside the law. Isn’t it better that our military takes over the country to save the country and maintain peace?” the business tycoon told the press last week.

The presidential election on September 7 was annulled by the Supreme Court after Gasim contested the results alleging widespread electoral fraud while the revote scheduled for October 19 was obstructed by the police after the JP and PPM refused to approve the voter registry.

Election or Dhoonidhoo

Former President Mohamed Nasheed meanwhile told reporters yesterday that he would attend the meeting but questioned President Waheed’s sincerity.

“After instructing [the police] to stop the election, preventing the election from taking place, and facilitating the unraveling of a legitimate state so that he could remain in the presidency without an election, he has said he wants to talk to us for a superficial show to hoodwink the international community,” the MDP presidential candidate said.

The United Nations, the Commonwealth, the European Union and several foreign governments including the United States, the United Kingdom and India have all expressed concern with the election delays and urged expedition of the polls.

Special Envoy of the Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Don McKinnon, visited President Waheed yesterday and was “assured that the government would provide any assistance and support required by the Elections Commission.”

Meanwhile, speaking at a campaign event in Male’ last night, Nasheed said the consequences of not having an election would be “unimaginable.”

“Today we are saying we can’t buy oil because there is no money. Tomorrow we will hear there is no one willing to sell us oil even if we have the money,” he said, adding that the country would face severe difficulties in securing imports.

On tomorrow’s meeting, Nasheed said he was willing to have a “friendly” discussion even with a person who wanted him dead, adding that his former vice president should know that he could not “deceive” either the Maldivian people or the international community.

Nasheed said he would tell Waheed to resign before midnight on November 10. “I have nothing else to talk to you about,” he said.

Speaker Shahid would then assume the presidency and facilitate an election within a week, Nasheed said.

“I do not wish to remain a free man if we cannot vote on the 9th. Staying home to sleep is not something I’ve ever been able to do. I will definitely not do that on the 9th, I will be in Dhoonidhoo jail,” he said.

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US slams “extra-legal” attempts to derail democratic process

“Political differences are not unique to Maldives, and they should not be allowed to derail the process,” United States Embassy in Colombo has said.

Expressing concern over the delay of elections and reports of intimidation of MPs, the statement warns that, “Extra-legal maneuvering and calls for military intervention are neither appropriate, nor acceptable under international law.”

“Such issues could result in damage to Maldives’ international reputation and impact negatively upon the Maldivian economy,” the statement continued.

The third attempt to complete the presidential election has been scheduled for Saturday (November 9), with the date for a potential second round on the 16th.

Following the initial poll on September 7 – which appeared to have set up a run-off between Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed and Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yameen – the US urged all sides to accept the results, calling the much-praised poll a “victory for democracy”.

Prior to the re-scheduled October 19 poll, the US had expressed concerns – later realised – at the potential for continued legal actions to cause further delays.

“Since the September 7 first round of elections were annulled via questionable tactics, we have been actively engaging with all political parties and independent institutions to encourage a way forward that is in line with Maldives’ constitution,” continued yesterday’s statement.

“As the current government’s mandate expires on November 11, time is of the essence.”

A motion was passed last week detailing transitional arrangements for the Majlis speaker to take the interim presidency, prompting the Jumhooree Party candidate – and filer of the complaints which led to the annulment of the original poll – Gasim Ibrahim to suggest that handing power over to the military would be preferable.

“Isn’t it better that our military takes over the country to save the country and maintain peace?” local media quoted the businessman and MP as saying.

Repeated delays of the presidential elections have evoked concern from across the globe, with the UK government also expressing its concern that the Maldives’ reputation would suffer should the current political crisis not be resolved with free and fair elections.

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire told the UK’s House of Commons last week that he feared for the economic future of the country.

MDP candidate and former President Nasheed has also suggested that foreign actors were preparing for economic sanctions should no president-elect be confirmed by November 11.

“Ambassadors of foreign nations that I meet are now saying very openly that if there is no president-elect by November 11 they would have to take action under their normal rules or procedures,” Nasheed has reported.

A recent spate of legal actions against opposition MPs has also caused international concern, with the Inter-Parliamentary Union last week arranging an urgent visit to the Maldives in an attempt to build trust between feuding state institutions.

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Commonwealth envoy returns for pre-election visit

Commonwealth Special Envoy for the Maldives will arrive in the Maldives today for a pre-election visit.

“Sir Donald McKinnon, will visit Male’ from 3 to 7 November 2013, as part of his continuing engagement with Maldives to promote the consolidation of democracy, and Commonwealth values and principles,” read a statement on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website.

During the Supreme Court’s investigation of alleged voter fraud during the first round of the presidential election on September 7, McKinnon advocated strongly for the second round to proceed as scheduled.

“This election marks a renewal of the country’s democratic credentials, with an 88 percent voter turnout. This displays a determination to get the country back on to a sound democratic foundation,” McKinnon said.

International opinion was “firmly behind” the second round of elections proceeding as planned on September 28, he said, noting that “There are always losers in every election everywhere, but the winners here must be the people of Maldives. The results of their votes must be paramount to the process and the result.”

The complaints lodged by third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party eventually resulted in the decision to annul the first round and to repeat the poll on October 19.

Further complications related to the court’s prescriptive verdict resulted in the eventual delay of the re-vote, with the latest date set for this coming Saturday (November 9).

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Comment: The importance of presidential candidates’ meeting

Even as the rest of the world – and Maldivians too – had almost given up the country as being on the brink of a political and leadership chaos, it has bounced back with the kind of verve and nerve that democracy entails at birth. The three presidential candidates met in what was not an entirely unexpected turn, and declared their intention to try and complete the poll process in time for an elected president to assume office on 11 November, the D-day under the constitutional scheme and national tradition.

Meeting on Sunday night, former President Mohammed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and his rivals, Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party (JP), unanimously decided to approach the Election Commission (EC) for advancing the poll-dates. If their combined effort next morning when the met the EC officials did not fructify, it owed to the existing electoral scheme – or, so it would seem.

As may be recalled, the EC had fixed 9 November for the first-round and 16 November for the second-round of the once-annulled and once-cancelled polls. The tradition under the continuing constitutional scheme for decades now has been for the elected president to assume office on 11 November. With the second-round of polls, if required for the victor to possess the mandated 50-percent vote-support, scheduled for 16 November, questions have begun to be asked from the highest levels on the possibilities of an emerging constitutional vacuum.

In their meeting, the three candidates claimed to have worked out a scheme for verification of the voters’ list individually. Whatever that may be, they seemed desirous to let nothing – including the possibly an allegedly faulty voter-list – come in the way of completing the poll process. Claims of ‘faulty voter-list’ were among the causes for presidential polls, originally scheduled for 7 and 28 September, getting inordinately and at times inadvertently delayed.

During their meeting on Sunday night, the three candidates decided to urge the EC to advance the first round to 2 November and the second round, if needed, to 9 November. Clearly, they wanted the poll process to be completed in time for the elected one from among them to assume office on 11 November. None of them wanted a constitutional vacuum to emerge in the country during its democratic infancy, particularly after incumbent President Mohammed Waheed expressed a desire to step aside before the deadline for transition.

Going by local media reports, the three candidates meeting the waiting media together after their talks with EC officials, did not elaborate on the EC’s reasons for not being able to conduct the polls. While drafting earlier poll-schedules, the EC had provided the required 21 days for completing the administrative work, comprising re-registration of new voters and those wanting to vote in a booth other than originally assigned. The latter in particular should have thrown up problems while advancing the poll after re-registration had been set in motion.

Under the law, any Maldivian citizen attaining 18 years of age on the day of (first-round) polling are entitled to register their names as voters. After the EC had fixed 9 November as the day for first-round polling and opened re-registration, advancing the poll dates would have been fraught with complications that the constitution’s framers did not foresee, and hence did not provide for. Nor did the 4-3 verdict of the Supreme Court that annulled the 7 September poll and setting out a 16-point guideline for re-poll provide for.

With all sections of parliament involved in the three-candidate negotiations, getting an emergency constitutional amendment Bill through the People’s Majlis would have been a formality. Outgoing President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik, who readily endorsed the three-candidate decision, may have also given his assent to such a constitutional amendment. Should any citizen affected by the measure go to the court, however, the process by itself would have been time-consuming, defeating the very purpose of the poll-advancement idea.

‘No’ to military rule

The three-candidate meeting and their meaningful proposal has brought back political pragmatism to the nation’s centre-table, where electoral expediency and excesses alone seemed to rule for a time. President Waheed, who had not very long ago dubbed himself the ‘most hated person’ for the international community and media, set the ball rolling instead, by sounding out the possibility of his resigning from office along with his entire Cabinet, including Vice-President Waheed Deen, for Parliament Speaker, Abdulla Shahid, to take over for a 60-day election-period, as per the Constitution. He followed it up with a letter to Parliament

With the MDP’s Nasheed having won the highest 45.45 percent vote-share in the annulled first-round, the party-led alliance jumped at President Waheed’s proposal. It got the house to pass a resolution on those lines. This is to be followed by a formal bill on the same subject in the coming days, it is said. However, such a course would require a constitutional amendment. The non-MDP alliance parties had boycotted the earlier vote on the resolution. They can be expected to boycott the vote on the upcoming Bill, also, should the MDP still go ahead with the proposal after the three-candidate confabulation.

To the extent the three candidates, their parties and coalitions have been able to distinguish between political realities, electoral exigencies and constitutional compulsions, the nation has been brought back from the brink. Likewise, the Jumhooree Coalition’s Hassan Saeed, vice-presidential running-mate to Gasim Ibrahim, has shot down the proposition of a possible term of ‘military rule’ post 11/11, if the first-round poll of 9 November does not produce a president-elect. The coalition was not considering the option, Saeed said a day after JP parliamentary group leader, Ilham Ahmed, had proposed the same in the house on Sunday.

Air of permissiveness

The JP – and other political outfits – may be in for a time of introspection, if not explanation, a vandal attacked the Indian High Commissioner’s car outside of the diplomatic mission. The car’s wind-screen was damaged, but fortunately, no one was inside the vehicle at the time. Earlier in the day, JP’s mouth-piece, Miadhu, quoted party Secretary-General Hussein Shah as saying that “a foreign Ambassador (had) requested (party founder and presidential candidate Gasim) not to go to court even if there is any vote-manipulations”.

The police are investigating the car-attack. In diplomatic terms, the attack means more for bilateral relations than may be visible and acceptable. Shah’s unsubstantiated claims and the attack on the Indian envoy’s car may have been independent episodes, but both are also reflective of an ‘air of permissiveness’ that has permeated down the democratic political culture in the country. On an earlier occasion, a senior aide of President Waheed attacked the then Indian High Commissioner by name. He was shifted out to a different position, which was considered an elevation, not a punishment, of sorts.

Needless to point out that the President’s Office, Parliament, the police and armed forces headquarters are all within a stone’s throw of the Indian High Commission. The stone that fell on the Indian side could very well have fallen on the other side, too. It only goes on to indicate the precarious nature of the nation’s politics and politics-driven people’s posturing just now. It comes a year and half after the prevailing mood and methods of this kind culminated in the controversial resignation of President Nasheed on 7 February 2012. Each party and politician continues to have a different take and cause for the events, versions and justifications of that day – all of them contributing to the current confusion and consequent impasse.

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Ambassadors warned of international restrictions if no president by November 11: Nasheed

Foreign ambassadors have warned of international restrictions on trade and financial transactions if there is no president-elect by the end of the current presidential term on November 11, former President Mohamed Nasheed said at a press briefing yesterday (October 30).

To avert such a scenario, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate suggested two solutions: the Supreme Court should review its judgment to annul the September 7 presidential election, or one of the two rival candidates should withdraw his candidacy “for the sake of the nation and Islam” ahead of the fresh polls scheduled for November 9.

A nation without an elected president is considered a dictatorship and prone to instability and unrest by the international community, he added.

Nasheed referred to financial sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe on troubled states such as Sudan and Myanmar.

If similar sanctions are imposed on the Maldives, Nasheed said the country would face difficulties in both importing essential goods, such as oil, medicine and foodstuffs, and continuing to export fish to Europe.

“If we cannot hold an election, we will be forced to conduct all business transactions overseas with cash,” he continued, as restrictions would apply to transactions through foreign financial institutions and banks.

“We are concerned because we can see Maldivians having to bear this burden. We are concerned that our rivals, even under these circumstances, are trying to stop the election and maintain the coup government,” said Nasheed.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg this week heard calls from UK MEP Charles Tannock to apply “maximum pressure” to reverse what he described as a “judicial coup” in the Maldives.

Rival candidates only considered discussions to conclude the presidential election before November 11 after parliament “with a comfortable majority” passed the MDP’s proposal for the speaker of parliament to assume the presidency in the absence of a president-elect, Nasheed contended.

On the day parliament adopted the MDP resolution, he continued, the PPM and JP “realised that the coup government cannot be maintained even if they obstruct the election.”

“Even when we went to the Elections Commission, we all knew very clearly that it was unlikely that both rounds of the election could be held before November 11 while abiding by the Supreme Court guidelines,” Nasheed said.

Two options

Nasheed stressed that either a Supreme Court review or a candidate’s withdrawal was necessary to ensure a victor in one round to conclude the election by November 11.

As it was the Jumhooree Party that sought annulment of the September 7 election, Nasheed urged the party’s candidate Gasim Ibrahim to file a case at the apex court requesting a review of its decision.

“We are now at the mouth of a pit, on the edge of a razor blade,” said Nasheed, describing the consequences of repeated election delays.

Asked if either candidate had responded to his appeal for one of the pair to withdraw, Nasheed said he was hopeful but could not say he got “a clear answer.”

“I am certain that Gasim’s question will be, ‘why me?’ The answer is because you are the most sincere,” he said.

In lieu of a candidate dropping out of the race, Nasheed said the second option was for the Supreme Court to review its judgment and allow the second round to take place on November 9.

If none of the two scenarios came to pass, Nasheed expressed confidence of winning the election on November 9 “in one round” against the PPM and JP candidates.

“In my view, the Maldivian people’s patience has run out because of the efforts to stop the election from taking place. Fishermen can’t go fishing. People can’t leave on a holiday or for medical treatment overseas. And the campaign activists do not want in the slightest for their lives to return to normalcy,” he said.

Nasheed questioned the sincerity of the JP and PPM’s request for the Elections Commission to conclude the election before November 11 as both parties were insisting on following the Supreme Court guidelines whilst calling for Dr Waheed to remain in office.

Nasheed emerged the front-runner in the annulled September 7 election with 45.45 percent of the vote followed by Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yameen who polled 25.35 percent, necessitating a second round run-off.

Business tycoon Gasim narrowly missed out in a place in the run-off election with 24.07 percent of the vote and contested the results at the Supreme Court alleging widespread electoral fraud.

Meanwhile, at a press conference yesterday, JP Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed emphatically dismissed Nasheed’s calls for Gasim to withdraw, calling instead for Nasheed to step back for the good of the nation.

“There is a fear that Islam will disappear if you [come to power]. There is a fear that there will be bloodshed here caused by introduction of other religions. There is a fear that you will sell of the nation’s assets,” he said.

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Week in review: October 12 – 25

The past fortnight has been dominated by the build up to, and the fallout from, the re-scheduled presidential elections. Due to take place on October 19, the poll was delayed at the eleventh hour when police blocked the removal of documents from the Elections Commission (EC).

The police’s decision – later criticised by the Human Rights Commission as well as the EC – came after the EC had been unable to obtain the signatures of the candidates as mandated by the Supreme Court for the completion of the voter registry.

Both Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) candidates had broken off contact with the EC, just as the commission neared completion of a frantic drive to re-register over 70,000 voters in less than two weeks.

The EC’s efforts were further placed in jeopardy by the court’s maintenance that any concerns regarding fingerprint verification must be addressed – a task that the commission maintained was beyond its capacity.

Re-registration was made harder still when PPM and supporters of its coalition ally the Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) caused chaos in the re-registration queues after a systems malfunction. The police were again criticised by the EC for failing to come to its aid in a timely manner, with Chair Fuwad Thowfeek (fore-)telling Minivan News “there are people who want to block this vote”.

The police subsequently defended its role in delaying the election.

JP and PPM officials re-surfaced in the afternoon prior to the polling date to state that they would not sign the register without further verification – of 10 and 5 percent of fingerprints, respectively – before both parties returned to the Supreme Court, requesting the further delay of polls.

When the court failed to accede to these requests, the police obliged, prompting the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to take to the streets in a peaceful sit-down protest that covered the length of Male’s main thoroughfare and beyond. In a rousing speech MDP candidate Mohamed Nasheed vowed to “establish good governance in the Maldives”.

Two nights of these protests followed, as did meetings between the EC and political parties, before the election was moved to November 9 – with a potential run-off scheduled for the 16th. The Supreme Court, however, has already deemed that its prior guidelines must be followed to the letter.

After deciding to withdraw his own candidacy for the new poll, President Waheed publicly expressed his doubt over credibility of the scheduled October 19 vote. Waheed also stated his refusal to acknowledge the five percent vote he had received in the first (annulled) poll.

In his latest foray into Maldivian politics, British businessman Richard Branson revealed this week that he had been on the verge of writing to Waheed to congratulate him on his handling of the democratic process before the vote’s deferral.

Waheed’s calls, the day before the scheduled vote, for parties to cease obstructing polling fell on deaf ears, as have his calls for conciliation. Waheed suggested to Indian media that he would threaten to resign if necessary, a sentiment strongly supported by Nasheed.

Fierce rhetoric has refused to abate in the aftermath of the cancelled vote, with the two presidential coalitions launching attacks on the EC, after having focused on one another prior to the 19th.

JP presidential candidate and MP Gasim Ibrahim called for the Majlis to declare a state of emergency in order to pursue criminal charges against the EC and Chair Fuwad Thowfeek – whose superhuman efforts prompted an outpouring of support from the public.

Meanwhile, the prospect of the court invalidating Nasheed’s candidacy altogether remains on the table as PPM council member Ibrahim ‘Wadde’ Waheed refused to defer to the requests of his leaders and withdraw his court case.

The MDP – who now enjoy a Majlis majority with the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – tabled multiple no-confidence motions against senior cabinet members, as well as legislation to ensure the orderly transition of power from the executive to the speaker should the presidential term end (on November 11) without a successor having been chosen.

This flurry of activity in the legislature prompting the Supreme Court to fast-track the suspension of two MPs on charges of decreed debt.

Elsewhere

Aside from the elections, the police received continued criticism from Raajje TV regarding the station’s arson attack, with its chairman seeking international assistance to find the perpetrators.

One officer who failed to return from accompanying the ballot box to the UK was caught out on social media as he tweeted about his attendance at Arsenal’s Champions League game this week.

Following a suicide in Male’ in a location frequented by drug users, the National Drug Agency warned of a potentially lethal drug in circulation.

Finally, global climate justice NGO 350.org told Minivan News this week that the recent IPCC report only strengthened the world’s need for climate justice advocates such as former President Nasheed.

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JP and PPM request Supreme Court order further delaying Saturday’s election

Both the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have filed cases with the Supreme Court requesting that tomorrow’s re-scheduled election not go ahead without all parties having signed the register.

The request for a new court order comes after both parties have thus-far refused to sign the amended electoral register for tomorrow’s election.

PPM MP Ahmed Nihan denied that his party had attempted to delay polling, claiming that the party still wished to have an election as soon as possible.

He added that the motion filed did not request any specific timeline, claiming that the party was trying to find a way that voting could go ahead as planned – positing the possibility of a public holiday to facilitate voting should tomorrow’s poll not go ahead.

Speaking to Haveeru, JP Lawyer Mohamed Haleem said they filed for the court order because they believed the EC would proceed with elections without getting voter lists approved.

“We have asked the Supreme Court for an order to hold elections after abiding by all procedures laid out in Supreme Court guideline number five. The Supreme Court has accepted the case,” he said.

At a press conference earlier today, Gasim explained that his party had doubts over the accuracy of the voter register, and would need at least two days to check the new lists.

“If an election is held tomorrow in violation of the Supreme Court ruling, it is without doubt an unlawful election. We cannot give space for such an election. And how can we support such an election?” said Gasim.

Gasim urged the EC to request further instruction from the court, after commission members had expressed a lack of guidance when faced with party’s refusing to sign the register.

“EC has failed to respond to the numerous complaints and concerns we have raised with them,” said PPM Deputy Leader and MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem at a separate press briefing. “It is impossible to hold a free and fair election until the EC complies with the regulations ordered by the Supreme Court.”

Stalemate

A meeting between the EC, party representatives and the Home Ministry at 9:00pm this evening reportedly ended in a stalemate, according to local media, with the JP and PPM insisting on time to verify the voter registry.

Candidate Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party, expressed its satisfaction with the new lists yesterday, noting a “neglibile” 0.61 percent margin of error. The frantic re-registration process saw over 71,000 forms submitted to the Elections Commission, after the Supreme Court opened at midnight on October 10 and ordered the commission to restart the procedure from scratch just days before the poll.

The revised voter registry is based on the Department of National Registration’s (DNR) registry and lists 239,198 eligible voters – 395 fewer than the 239,593 in the annulled September 7 polls that saw an 88 percent voter turnout.

Speaking to the press outside the EC this afternoon, Nasheed said an election by October 20 was “paramount” to the Supreme Court guidelines, and hence the EC must proceed with elections preparations and stand ready to hold elections as scheduled until the Supreme Court clarifies what the EC must do, or until the PPM and JP approve the list.

On October 7, Supreme Court annulled the first round of presidential elections held on September 7 after the third-placed JP filed a complaint alleging widespread electoral fraud, despite the polls being unanimously praised as free and fair by more than 1000 local and international elections observers.

The JP had narrowly placed third with 24.07 percent of the vote – only 2677 votes behind second placed PPM’s Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Front-runner Mohamed Nasheed received 45.45 percent of the vote.

The Supreme Court gave the EC a 12-day deadline to hold a re-vote, and delineated 16 guidelines which including compiling a new voter registry, a new re-registration process, and approval of the voter registry by all candidates contesting in the election.

PPM and JP representatives failed to turn up at the EC to approve the voter registry this morning. According to the EC, the JP had said the party would sign the registry when the commission presented a hard copy of the final voter list and verified five percent of over 70,000 re-registration forms.

International groups concerned by legal delays

Several foreign governments, including the US and UK, have meanwhile last week expressed concern about continued legal action being used to delay polls.

The US last week said it was “deeply concerned” about continued legal actions “that could further delay the Maldivian presidential election”.

“It is important that the [election] go forward unimpeded in a fair, inclusive and transparent way,” said Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department, Marie Harf, in a statement. “The basis of any democracy is for citizens to choose their government, for political differences to be decided at the ballot box in an environment free of violence and for election results to be respected,” the statement read.

In a statement today the US Embassy in Colombo said the United States “is concerned that the re-organised first round of the Maldivian presidential election, set for October 19, may now be postponed. Under the Constitution, a new President is required to be sworn in by November 11, 2013. Further efforts to delay the electoral process could undermine the will of the people to choose their representative.”

“The Electoral Commission has made concerted efforts to comply with the Supreme Court’s requirements for a new first round, including the re-registration of thousands of voters. Political leaders must come together to ensure that participatory democracy is not undermined and that free, fair, credible and inclusive elections can take place peacefully and in line with international standards,” the US stated.

The Indian government today said it was “deeply concerned” at the possibility of further delay.

“We call upon all political parties to show a spirit of understanding, cooperation and accommodation by supporting the efforts for holding elections as scheduled, including by accepting the voters’ register. Holding of free, fair and credible elections without further delay is essential for fulfilling the political aspirations of the people of Maldives,” the Indian government stated.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague last week called on presidential candidates in the Maldives to respect the democratic process “and create conditions for free, fair elections.”

“It is imperative that there are no further delays and the elections be free, fair and inclusive, and that international observers are invited,” the Foreign Secretary said.

“I note the Supreme Court’s annulment of the first round of Presidential election results in Maldives, despite the assessment by both international and domestic monitors that proceedings were transparent, fair and credible,” said Hague, in a statement.

Hague urged presidential candidate “to act in line with the interests of the people of Maldives”, and expressed hope “that the process will enable the President elect to be inaugurated by 11 November, in line with the constitutional framework.”

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