Tag: maldives news

Parliament sitting scheduled for Saturday

A sitting of the People’s Majlis has been scheduled for Saturday following a request by President Dr Mohamed Waheed for parliament to find a solution to legal issues that will arise if a president is not elected by the end of the current presidential term on November 11.

“In a letter to the Speaker of the People’s Majlis, President Dr Mohamed Waheed has requested the People’s Majlis 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. In his letter the President noted if the presidential election is to be held on the dates set by the Elections Commission, there was a possibility of such a situation,” reads a statement on the President’s Office website.

Parliament’s Secretary General told newspaper Haveeru today that the only item on the agenda for Saturday’s sitting would be the President’s letter.

Meanwhile, MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor submitted a bill on Wednesday (October 23), which if passed would allow the Speaker of Parliament to assume the office of the presidency in the absence of a president-elect on November 11.

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President Waheed takes week-long holiday

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has taken a one-week holiday, Cabinet Secretary Dr Abdulla Nazeer told parliament’s Government Oversight Committee today.

Nazeer was summoned to the parliamentary committee over delays in the swearing-in of parliament’s newly-elected representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza.

Nazeer told MPs that the ceremony could only take place once Dr Waheed returns on October 31.

Following the cabinet secretary’s remarks, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali tweeted,

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MDP proposes bill allowing Speaker of Parliament to take charge after expiry of presidential term

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) yesterday (October 23) proposed a bill to parliament, which if passed would allow the Speaker to take charge of the government should no president-elect be determined by November 11.

The constitution only provides for a similar transition within the limits of the presidential term. The current Speaker of the House is MDP member Abdulla Shahid.

The bill (Dhivehi) sponsored by MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – who is today seeking refuge from arrest in the Majlis chambers  – coincided with the party’s presidential candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed’s contention that incumbent Dr Mohamed Waheed could not remain in power after November 11.

Meanwhile President Waheed himself has maintained that he does “not want to stay in this position even a day beyond November 11”.

Despite the statements by the president – who obtained just 5 percent of the popular vote in the annulled September 7 presidential polls – the Supreme Court has previously ruled that Waheed would be able to remain in power even after the expiry of his presidential term, citing the continuity of government principle.

This principle, first developed by the British, establishes defined procedures for allowing a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or any other catastrophic event.

The new bill titled ‘Legislation underlining transitional arrangements in the event no president-elect and vice president-elect is not determined at the end of the 2008 presidential term’ states that the primary purpose of the bill was to prevent any constitutional void that could arise in case no successor to the president or vice-president was elected by November 11.

Section 3(a) of the bill states:

‘Until the new president and the vice president are elected, the duties and responsibilities of the President would be undertaken by the Speaker of Parliament. If the Speaker of Parliament is unable to take the duties and responsibilities, then Deputy Speaker of Parliament will take undertake the duties and responsibilities. If both the Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Speaker Parliament are unable to undertake the responsibilities and duties, it would be undertaken by a member of parliament determined by a resolution passed by the parliament.’

The section 3(b) meanwhile states that any person who takes charge as per section 3(a), is required to take the “oath of office by persons temporarily discharging the duties of the office of President and Vice President” as stipulated in article 126 of the constitution.

The bill also demands that the new caretaker-president ensures the completion of the first round of presidential election or the run-off election as mentioned in the article 111 of the constitution within a twenty-one day period.

The bill states that the winner of the presidential polls must take the oath of the office within 18 hours of the Elections Commission announcing the final results of the poll.

It also states that the term of the new presidency would commence only after they take oath, resulting the renewal of the presidential term every five years would take place on November 11.

The section 6 of the bill – a sunset provision – states that the bill would automatically expire once the new president and vice president take the oath of their office.

The submission of the bill also coincided with the Civil Service Commission’s meeting with all the presidential candidates regarding the appointment of the director of transition – a temporary official selected among the civil servants to oversee the transition of governments – as stipulated in the Presidential Elections Act.

Although MP Ghafoor’s bill has been submitted to the parliament, a date has to hold the preliminary debate of the bill is yet to be scheduled.

Parliamentary procedures dictate that the bill gets formally accepted to parliament only if the majority of the MPs vote in favour after holding the preliminary debate.

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MDP files no-confidence motion against the Prosecutor General

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has filed a no-confidence motion against the Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muiz today (October 24) claiming that that he had failed in taking action against the police and the military officers who mutinied against former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 2012.

Nasheed was forced to step down after his decision to arrest the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed led to twenty-two days of continuous anti-government protests escalating into the mutiny. Following the ousting of its government, the then-ruling MDP alleged that Nasheed had been ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.

Despite the claims, a Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) established by Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed – including a Singaporean judge, a representee nominated by Nasheed, and three other members handpicked by Waheed – concluded that the transfer did not amount to a coup, proclaiming Waheed appointment to have been legal.

However, the CoNI’s final report admitted that both officers of the police and military were involved in several unlawful activities during the change of government, making recommendations to the government to take action against them.

The MDP in its statement argued that the CoNI report had given clear evidence of gross misconduct by the police and the military that included brutalizing protesters and undermining fundamental rights guaranteed to the people by the constitution.

The party alleged that the PG – despite having the power, authority, and the mandate to look into such actions – had failed to take any action against the wrongdoing noted in the CoNI report.

Other reasons for filing the motion, the statement claimed, included the failure to come up with any results despite being mandated to oversee the functioning of the country’s criminal justice system, and the prioritising of personal over national interests when ordering investigations into criminal wrongdoings.

The statement further alleged that the PG has undermined the rights of the people due to the PG’s negligence in carrying out his duties.

The party also claimed that the PG had been silent to several massive discrepancies within the courts and had refused to act even at times when actions by the courts were obviously in contrast with laws and democratic norms.

Does not hold the qualities required by the constitution: MDP

“Based on aforementioned reasons, [we] file a case requesting the parliament to take no-confidence motion as per section 178(a) of the Parliamentary Regulations, against the Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz, as he does not hold the qualities of an Independent and Impartial Prosecutor General as required by the Article 220 of the constitution,” read the statement.

Prosecutor General Muiz has come under heavy fire from the MDP for recent criminal charges filed against its senior party members, including its parliamentarians. The party has accused Muizz of being biased and politically aligned with government parties.

MDP presidential candidate Nasheed has previously alleged that Muiz’s independence and impartiality had been compromised in return for his job security.

Nasheed at the time claimed that the PG had fashioned criminal charges against people in such a fashion as to appease government-aligned groups in the parliament, thus ensuring he can remain in his position.

“Hamid Abdul Ghafoor…is facing charges for possessing alcohol and narcotics… A similar kind of thing was found from the suit case of Ahmed ‘Sun travel’ Shiyam [Leader of Maldivian Development Alliance],” said Nasheed said at the time.

“But the Prosecutor General did not notice that both cases had the same offence,”

However, following the recent decision by the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to support Nasheed, the opposition group has now become the majority in parliament.

The opposition MDP currently commands the support of 44 MPs that includes 34 members of the party and 10 from the DRP.

The MDP has meanwhile also filed similar no-confidence motions against the Attorney General, Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim, Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb for their roles in the government’s attempt to stall the presidential elections.

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Leaked HRCM report questions Supreme Court’s election annulment

A leaked Human Rights Commission (HRCM) report obtained by Minivan News has questioned the credibility of the evidence used by the Supreme Court to annul the first round of presidential polls held on September 7.

It also says that the apex court does not have the authority to delineate guidelines for a re-vote.

The document suggests that the 16 guidelines compromise the independence of the Elections Commission (EC) by involving various state institutions and candidates in the conducting, managing, and facilitating of the elections.

A member of the HRCM has confirmed that the organization carried out an analysis of the Supreme Court verdict, but declined to comment on the report’s authenticity.

The court annulled the September 7 polls, claiming 5641 cases of fraudulent votes – a number that could have altered the election result due to the 2677 vote margin between the second and third placed candidates.

However, the HRCM’s analysis of the 5641 cases show only 1033 votes could be considered irregular.

“The commission does not believe this is a number than can affect the elections results,” the report stated.

The document also noted the Supreme Court is tasked with administration of justice and the People’s Majlis with law making powers, and as such the Supreme Court did not have the authority to compile guidelines on electoral conduct.

“We note that the Supreme Court’s guidelines include obligations that are not present in General Elections Act (No 11/2008) and Presidential Elections Act (No 12/2008) and we believe the Supreme Court does not have the jurisdiction [to issue new obligations],” the report said.

The police halted the Supreme Court ordered re-vote on October 19, saying they would not support the election after the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) had refused to approve the voter registry.

Irregular votes

The four judges making the majority decision contended that 5641 irregular votes were cast. According to the verdict, these included:

  • 773 people with discrepancies in their national identification numbers
  • 18 dead people
  • 7 minors
  • 225 people without national identification numbers
  • Three people who voted twice
  • 2830 people with discrepancies in their addresses
  • 952 people with discrepancies in their names
  • 7 people who were not registered in the Department of National Registration’s (DNR) database
  • 819 people whose national identification numbers had been written down incorrectly by elections officials at the time of voting

In the HRCM’s analysis, only 1033 of the 5641 votes could be considered irregular – a figure which addressed:

  • The seven people whose names were added to the voter registry by pen may have been to ensure an eligible voter was given the right to vote despite not being on the voter registry
  • 3 repeated votes for which the report said it was unclear how many times these people voted and hence, incomplete information should not be used in a verdict
  • 2830 address mismatches: “We do not believe address mismatches can influence the result of this election as this is not constituency specific,” the report said and noted that such information should be used in a verdict only if the individual has used this mismatch to violate another’s right to vote or used the information for undue benefit
  • 952 name mismatches which may have been used to ensure that an eligible voter is not disenfranchised, especially if the voter is given the right to vote when all other information and picture on the identity card matches the person who comes to vote
  • 819 people whose national identification numbers had been written down wrong by elections officials at the time of voting: this may be a human errors and can be crosschecked at the time of voting

The report states that the remaining 1033 cases of irregular votes does not change the outcome of the election.

In contrast to majority four judges, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and Judge Abdulla Areef found only 473 instances of irregular votes. The two judges said the amount was not enough to invalidate entire election. In case of fraudulent votes, only the result in a specific geographic location can be annulled, not the entire election, the judges said.

The two judges also argued jurisdiction in the matter lies with the High Court, not the Supreme Court.

Guidelines

The HRCM report noted that the Supreme Court guidelines included obligations that are not included in the election laws.

These include obtaining candidate’s signatures on the voter registry, obtaining candidate’s approval for all elections officials active in the polling booths on polling day, and the prohibition on the use of files, phones, handbags or any item that may infringe upon a candidate’s rights.

The EC may find it difficult to implement the guidelines, as they do not state what the commission must do in the event candidates refuse to vet elections officials or sign the registry, the report said.

“Further, the prohibition on the use of phones and files inside the polling booth obstructs the duties of observers, candidate’s representatives and monitors as per article 41, 42 and 43 of the General Elections Act,” the report said.

The Supreme Court also ordered the EC to ensure, along with “relevant authorities” that acts which violate this guideline do not take place. However, the HRCM report notes that the relevant authorities are not defined and hence, “it is not clear what various state institution’s roles are in elections and may create additional issues.”

The HRCM report appears to foreshadow the difficulties the EC was to face in conducting the poll on October 19. On the eve of elections, the PPM and JP refused to sign the voter registry demanding that the EC verify a sample of fingerprinted re-registration forms.

The EC said it did not have the capacity or time to crosscheck fingerprints.

With the PPM and JP refusing to approve the voter registry, the police – mandated by the court to oversee security of ballot papers and boxes – refused to transport materials to polling stations. An hour before polls opened, the police stopped EC officials from leaving the commission’s headquarters with any documents relating to the vote.

The commission yesterday released a statement arguing that the police’s blocking of the vote contravened the constitution, the Police Act, and the Elections Act.

The EC also accused the police of obstructing vote, questioning their mandate to do so. The guidelines only ask police to oversee security of ballot boxes in transit, the EC said.

“The Supreme Court 16 guidelines delineated in the verdict are restrictions. These are locks, blocks. With those locks, it will be very difficult for us to hold elections,” EC President Fuwad Thowfeek has said in an interview to Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC).

“But if we could hold an election according to the constitution, elections laws and presidential elections laws, we will be able to hold a free election.”

After cancellation of polls on Saturday, the government, following international pressure appealed again for an early election date. The EC set a new presidential poll date for November 9, and if necessary a second round on November 16.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Thowfeek has said he hopes the government finds a solution to the Supreme Court’s restrictions in the future.

“Otherwise, holding elections will become impossible and that affects the most fundamental [right] in a democracy,” Thowfeek said. Further, failure of candidates or any other state institution to do what they must to should not affect the citizenry’s right to vote, he added.

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“The world needs more political leaders like President Nasheed”: 350.org

Global climate justice NGO 350.org has reaffirmed that “urgent action is needed to address the climate crisis” in the Maldives, and that its continued active international leadership is “immensely important”.

In light of the IPCC’s findings and the danger sea level rise poses for the Maldives, 350.org has highlighted the essential international leadership role former President Mohamed Nasheed and the country have played for achieving climate justice.

“The IPCC’s 5th assessment report largely reaffirms what we already knew, and makes it abundantly clear that urgent action is needed the world-over. It is immensely important the Maldives to continue it’s active, leadership stance to go carbon neutral within a decade and advocate for more international action,” Will Bates, Global Campaigns Director and Co-Founder of 350.org told Minivan News.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes’s fifth assessment report emphasised the importance of human influence on the climate change system.

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased,” read the report released last month.

“As the ocean warms, and glaciers and ice sheets reduce, global mean sea level will continue to rise [during the 21st century], but at a faster rate than we have experienced over the past 40 years,” said IPCC Working Group 1 Co-Chair, Qin Dahe.

The IPCC’s report “sounds the alarm for immediate action on climate change,” declared 350.org.

“The report, which is the most authoritative, comprehensive assessment of scientific knowledge on climate change, finds with near certainty that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet and that climate impacts are accelerating… Scientists have upped the certainty that humans are responsible for warming, increasing their confidence to 95%,” highlighted 350.org.

350.org has been building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. It has coordinated over 20,000 climate demonstrations in more than 182 countries since the organisation’s founding in 2008.

350 parts per million is what many scientists, climate experts, and progressive national governments are now saying is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.

“The world needs more political leaders like President Nasheed”: 350.org

Bates noted that former President Nasheed has been an integral figure for the global climate justice movement.

“President Nasheed’s courageous and creative actions to confront the true scale of the climate crisis in 2009 and 2010 were a powerful wake-up call for the world. Hearing from an entire nation about the imminent threat to their future through their democratically elected president, and seeing their actions to address the crisis was an inspiration for the rest of the world to step up our efforts to address the climate crisis,” Bates stated.

“The world needs more political leaders like President Nasheed who understand the severity of the threat, and who speak and act truthfully in response,” he added.

The NGO also believes President Nasheed’s leadership within the Maldives has benefited the nation’s domestic climate justice movement.

“I believe it was in part thanks to the openness and freedom given to civil society in general during his administration that allows young people and NGOs to organize on climate change above and beyond what President Nasheed was working on at the national policy and international levels,” said Bates.

“No doubt his efforts to have the Maldives go carbon neutral in a decade was a powerful act of leadership that more governments around the world should be following as well,” he added.

“We support human rights and a free and fair democratic process in the Maldives,” Bates noted in regard to Nasheed’s ongoing domestic efforts to ensure these values are upheld.

Although he emphasised that 350.org is not directly involved in Nasheed’s political struggles at home, Bates explained how the non-violent direct action strategy 350.org employs can benefit the Maldives in its fight for climate justice as well as democratisation.

“Social movements around the world have proven the power of non-violent direct action as a means of creating change, political and otherwise,” he said.

“President Nasheed’s underwater cabinet meeting in 2009 was a particularly creative form of action, and there are countless ways that different non-violent tactics – from marches and rallies to culture-jamming and online memes – can enhance struggles against climate change as well as for promoting democracy and fair elections,” he continued.

“We’ve seen incredibly creative actions in the Maldives by grassroots activists fighting climate change too and with such international concern for the political situation there, similar tactics could be employed at the current time with great effect,” he added.

Nasheed has often spoken of the close interrelationship between climate change, human rights, and democracy, particularly since his February 7, 2012 controversial transfer of power, and 350.org has echoed this belief.

“Human rights and climate justice are very clearly inextricably linked as the climate crisis infringes on people’s access to food, water, health, and general security. Furthermore, the causes of the climate crisis, such as the extraction and burning of fossil fuels and cutting down forests have immense human rights implications. Meanwhile many the solutions, such as more decentralized renewable energy infrastructure, are in many ways a step towards democratizing more of how our world works,” said Bates.

“Although that is not to say that countries that exist with undemocratic systems of government can’t also enact solutions to achieve greater human rights and climate justice,” he added.

Extreme sea level rise threats

“The rate of sea level rise will very likely exceed that observed during 1971–2010 due to increased ocean warming and increased loss of mass from glaciers and ice sheets,” all prospective scenarios in the IPCC’s report projected.

Sea level is expected to rise between 0.26 metres (0.85 feet) and 0.98 metres (3.22 feet) by 2100, depending on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced this century, it added.

While these projections represent the possible low and high extreme scenarios of sea level rise, small island states – such as the Maldives – are especially vulnerable, the IPCC previously stressed in it’s fourth assessment report.

With over 80 percent of the land area in the Maldives being less than a meter (3.28 feet) above mean sea level, “the slightest rise in sea level will prove extremely threatening,” UNDP Maldives previously declared. “A rise in sea levels by 0.50 meters could see significant portions of the islands being washed away by erosion or being inundated [by the ocean].”

“Even now some islands are seriously affected by loss not only of shoreline but also of houses, schools and other infrastructure,” it continued.

Not only is the Maldives extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, other climate change impacts – including extreme weather events, coral bleaching and acidification – which exacerbate these negative effects, it added.

Earlier this year the World Bank also expressed the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change due to sea level rise projections.

Additionally, the UN’s 2013 global human development report highlighted inequality and climate change vulnerabilities as major concerns for the Maldives, despite the country’s “significant economic growth” in recent years.

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MDP’s Hamed Abdul Ghafoor fails to attend court appearance, cites parliamentary privilege

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamed Abdul Ghafoor reportedly failed to attend a court hearing today where he faces charges of refusing to provide a urine sample following suspicions of alcohol consumption.

Sun Online reported that Ghafoor’s legal representatives told the court he was unable to attend the 2pm hearing due to his presence in the People’s Majlis – therefore excusing his absence under parliamentary privilege.

During his last court appearance, Ghafoor denied he had been asked to provide a urine sample following his arrest on the island of Hondaidhoo last November, asking for the case to be thrown out.

Ghafoor allegedly failed to provide the urine sample after being arrested on the uninhabited island along with a group of MDP politicians and other senior political figures.  A number of those arrested with Ghafoor were charged with alcohol and drug possession.

In a case related to the same incident, the Prosecutor General’s Office had previously told the Criminal Court that it had 11 witnesses prepared to testify against Ghafoor, proving that he was in possession – and under the influence – of alcohol when arrested.

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Poll-Ball Should Go Back To Court For One Last Time: Eurasia Review

“The judges of the Maldivian Supreme Court may not have divined that their ‘Majority verdict’ in the ‘Presidential poll case’ could contribute to avoidable delays, which definitely was not their intention,” writes N Sathiya Moorthy for the Eurasia Review.

“Yet, the court’s 16-point guidelines for re-polls, issued while annulling the 7 September first-round, as scheduled and conducted by the Election Commission (EC), may have caused avoidable interpretations, hence delays, too.

‘Bogus voters’ and ‘fraudulent votes’ were among the major issues on which the court had adjudicated. However, the prescribed cure has proved to be as problematic as the perceived ailment. The court’s guideline for the contesting candidates to attest a fresh voters’ list prepared by the EC, based on other guidelines contained in the Majority judgment, has led to an ‘unfinished task’ of a kind.

Two of the three candidates in the fray, namely, Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party (JP), declined to sign the voters’ list, saying that they needed more time than the 24 hours available to them, for verification.

The third candidate, Mohammed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the front-runner in the annulled first-round with a high 45.45 percent vote-share, readily signed the list, just a day ahead of the first-round re-poll, scheduled for 29 October as per the Majority verdict.”

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Why it is important for Male that it sticks to the new poll deadline: Economic Times

“The Maldives, under immense international pressure led by India, has decided to hold a fresh round of presidential elections in November. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” writes Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury for India’s Economic Times newspaper.

“The island nation has a history of state interventions to postpone poll, and one must wait to conclude that the Mohamed Waheed government believes in democracy.”

“A smooth transition of power next month is essential for regional stability — and Indian concerns are relevant. India had even sent five observers to oversee the elections last Saturday. But they returned empty-handed after the police intervened to stop polling.”

“India, with huge stakes in the Maldives, has so far handled the crisis well. Initially it tried to convince the parties to hold elections as scheduled, then Delhi reached out to global powers to put diplomatic pressure on Waheed. Besides UNSC members, India, in a clever strategy, moved countries that are close to the Maldives — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, UAE and Malaysia.

Unlike some Western powers, Delhi was careful not to use intimidation or force to ensure polls in the name of democracy. Such interference would have boomeranged and strengthened the anti-India lobby in the Maldives. The idea is to have a democratic and stable Maldives where ballot, not bullet, is supreme,” concludes Chaudhury.

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