Tag: MDP

MDP wins seven out of 10 seats in second round of council elections

Read this article in Dhivehi

Candidates from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have won seven out of the 10 seats in play during yesterday’s second round of voting in the local council elections, according to preliminary results from the Elections Commission (EC).

Run-off elections took place between candidates for three island councils tied in last place with the same number of votes, whilst a revote was held in the island of Miladhoo in Noonu atoll.

The results of the January 18 poll in Miladhoo were annulled after it emerged that disappearing ink was used at the polling booth.

In addition to the island council races, a rescheduled vote was held for two atoll council seats from the Gaaf Alif Villigili constituency.

The poll was postponed by the EC to afford a candidate adequate time to campaign after his disqualification by the commission was overturned by the Supreme Court. The candidate in question had however withdrawn his candidacy following the EC’s decision to delay the poll.

Two candidates each from the MDP and the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) contested the two Villigili atoll council seats.

The two winners were PPM candidate Saudhulla Rasheed with 1,227 votes, followed by MDP candidate Mohamed Haleel with 1,124 votes.

The opposition party won a majority of seats in the Gaaf Alif Atoll council.

In Baa Fehendhoo, MDP candidate Aminath Fazeena narrowly defeated government-aligned Jumhooree Party candidate Fathmath Nuzla with 79 votes and 75 votes respectively. With the victory, the opposition party secured a majority of the Fehendhoo island council.

In Haa Alif Muraidhoo, two MDP candidates who had received the same number of votes faced off for the island council seat. Asrar Abdulla won the run-off poll with 268 votes.

A pair of MDP candidates contested in Raa Maakurath as well with Saudhulla Mohamed beating Abdulla Azeez for the last island council seat.

Of ten candidates standing in the revote for the five-member Miladhoo island council, three MDP candidates – Ibrahim Areef, Abubakur Ali, and Hassan Moosa – received the highest number of votes followed by PPM candidate Abdul Muttalib Abdul Samad in fourth place.

Two PPM candidates – Mohamed Ali and Fathmath Mohamed – were tied in fifth place with 428 votes.

While a run-off election was also due to take place yesterday in Gaaf Alif Kodey, the poll was postponed pending a High Court ruling on an ongoing election-related case.

The newly-elected councillors are due to be sworn in on February 26.

Seat haul

Some 2,463 candidates contested in the January 18 elections for 1,100 seats – 951 island council seats, 132 atoll council seats, and 17 city council seats – in the country’s second local government elections under the landmark Decentralisation Act of 2010.

Yesterday’s victories for the MDP brings its seat haul to 465 in total, including eight out of 11 seats in the Malé City Council and all six seats in the Addu City Council. The party fielded 901 candidates.

The governing Progressive Coalition – consisting of the PPM, JP, and Maldives Development Alliance – fielded 934 candidates and has now won a combined total of 459 seats.

With the three seats it won in yesterday’s polls, the PPM has taken 280 seats, followed by the JP with 123 seats and the MDA with 56 seats.

The Adhaalath Party fielded 83 candidates and secured 45 seats while, of the 543 independent candidates, 133 were elected.

The religious conservative party campaigned independently of the government coalition as it was not an official coalition partner with a formal agreement.

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) meanwhile fielded two candidates and won one council seat.

In the first local council elections that took place in February 2011, the then-main opposition DRP won a clear majority of seats while the MDP claimed it won the popular vote.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Over 1,500 complaints lodged over voters list

More than 1,500 complaints have been filed at the Elections Commission (EC) concerning the eligible voters registry for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

According to the EC, the Progressive Party of Maldives submitted 1,385 complaints while the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party made 66 complaints.

A further 120 complaints were lodged by individuals, the EC said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MDP will not respect separation of powers, says President Yameen

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) did not respect separation of powers during its three years in government, President Abdulla Yameen has said, urging voters to consider the track record of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration before choosing parliamentary candidates.

Speaking at the Progressive Coalition’s parliamentary campaign launching rally on Thursday night, President Yameen strongly criticised the opposition party’s campaign slogan – “Vote for the scale [of justice] for separation of powers” – contending that an MDP-controlled parliament would exert undue influence on other state institutions.

“Our rival opposition party is saying that they are coming to the People’s Majlis to separate powers. No doubt separation of powers is important in modern democratic systems. Separation of powers is a basis we all believe. But let us consider how responsibly and the extent to which powers were separated during the three years of the MDP government,” he said.

“We have to learn from past experience and they have shown very well, in much detail, during their three years how they want to separate powers in the future.”

The state of affairs that prevailed in the country at the end of the MDP’s three years in government should not have been what it was if the party had ruled democratically, Yameen argued.

Yameen said he “could not believe” that national debt could rise from MVR5 billion (US$324 million) to over MVR30 billion (US$1,195 million) during a democratic government.

MDP in office

President Yameen claimed that the MDP government attempted to merge the three powers of state during its time in office.

Yameen referred to the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012, which he contended was prompted by “verdicts or punishments not being delivered the way the president wanted.”

Moreover, the arrest of two opposition MPs in June 2010 “showed the extent to which political space was offered” to members of the People’s Majlis, Yameen said.

Following the en masse resignation of Nasheed’s cabinet on June 29, police arrested then-MP Yameen and MP Gasim Ibrahim over allegations of bribery and treason. Both MPs were subsequently released by Judge Abdulla.

Yameen also referred to the delayed appointment of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) President Hassan Luthfy, who was eventually sworn in 24 months after parliament approved him for the post.

After President Nasheed recalled Luthfy’s name and proposed a substitute nominee in late 2009, parliament rejected the substitute and approved Luthfy to the commission.

The President’s Office delayed swearing-in the new commissioner as it sought a Supreme Court ruling. Yameen alleged that the appointment was held up to prevent the ACC from functioning.

MDP MPs have not shown “even a small example of separating powers,” Yameen continued, accusing opposition MPs of obstructing the government and blocking development projects.

“Dark clouds” on horizon, warns vice president

Yameen also accused the opposition party of refusing to cooperate with the government on confirming the appointment of a new prosecutor general.

“So I have to say that it might be that they are obstructing [the appointment] because there are cases involving [opposition MPs]. This is why I am saying they are not trying to separate powers. What we are seeing is the merging of powers,” he said.

In his speech at the rally, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed contended that MDP MPs contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections endorsed former President Nasheed’s alleged “inhumane activities” and “insults” to Islam and the Prophet Mohamed (pbuh).

Voting or campaigning for such MPs was “without a doubt aiding and abetting sin and strife,” he said.

Repeatedly urging voters to consider the MDP’s track record before voting on March 22, Dr Jameel called on the public to vote for coalition candidates to empower citizens, defend the constitution and protect Islam.

Reiterating a central theme from last year’s presidential campaign, Dr Jameel insisted that the MDP would pursue an agenda to eradicate Islam from the Maldives.

The vice president also said he could see “dark clouds gathering” on the horizon, warning of arson in the capital Malé and judges “tied with rope and dragged through the streets.”

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – figurehead and leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives – meanwhile praised the candidates fielded by the PPM and its coalition partners Jumhooree Party and the Maldives Development Alliance.

Gayoom stressed that the Progressive Coalition must “work together” in the parliamentary campaign to secure a majority in the People’s Majlis, adding that government supporters contesting as independents would split the vote and benefit the MDP.

“Our three parties are working together as one party. We are working towards one objective. So there is no doubt that candidates contesting from our parties will have the full support of the other two parties,” said Gayoom.

“That is why I am saying that the foundation of the efforts we are commencing is working together, helping one another, and cooperating with each other.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Majlis committee to summon police for clarification on Alhan stabbing case

Parliament’s privileges committee has decided to summon police officers next Sunday to clarify details of how the investigation into the attack on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy is proceeding.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy, who submitted the case to the committee, described the incident as a murder attempt.

Alhan was stabbed in Malé on February 1 while at the Breakwater cafe in the artificial beach area.

“It is a concern to the whole parliament,’’ Inthi said. “It undermined the privilege of all the MPs, that’s why I sent a letter to the committee.’’

He said that a meeting was held regarding the case, and the committee had decided to ask police to send officers who could provide details of the investigation.

Inthi noted that the police were not sharing information with the public as they did during the investigation into the October 2012 murder of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

“So under the right to information we need to clarify this information,’’ he said, adding that the meeting with the police had been scheduled for 1:30pm on Sunday February 16.

Similarly, a source within Alhan’s family – speaking to Minivan News on condition of anonymity – said that police had not been cooperative thus far.

“Twelve days have passed now and we have tried many different ways to get information on the investigation,’’ he said, adding that he was sure the arrested persons were the assailants.

The Criminal Court yesterday extended the detention period to fifteen days for the two suspects arrested in the case. A third suspect was arrested, but was released soon after.

The family member said today that there was now a small movement in his leg, though doctors were unsure how long it will for him to fully recover.

During the attack, Alhan received stab wounds to the back and was quickly flown to Sri Lanka for spinal surgery.

“He still cannot sit, stand or walk and can’t talk a lot because he does not have energy,’’ said the family member. “We are still discussing sending him to Singapore and we also sent the surgery report to the doctors in Singapore where they have said it was done well and there were no issues.’’

The attack was politically motivated and well organised, stated the source, who noted that Alhan’s car had been followed three days prior to the incident.

MPs condemning the attack earlier this month suggested it may have been carried out by powerful local gangs working on the orders of political paymasters.

The source said that Alhan might not be able to be actively involved in his campaign for re-election in the Feydhoo constituency, where he intends to run as an independent after losing what he claims was an unfair party primary.

Though the MP’s family were critical of the MDP’s decision not to repeat the primary vote, local media were told this week that Alhan would continue to promote the MDP’s policy and ideology if re-elected.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MPs warned of consequences of failure to pass anti-money laundering legislation

A high-level delegation from the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) informed MPs on the National Security Committee yesterday of “negative consequences” for the Maldives if parliament fails to enact anti-money laundering legislation next month.

In an unofficial meeting with the committee’s chair, MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, and MPs Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakur and Mohamed Thoriq, APG Co-chair Andrew Colvin warned that the organisation along with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “would be left with little option but to take certain measures that would be negative for the Maldives” should the legislation not be passed.

APG Executive Secretary Dr Gordon Hook noted that implementing laws on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) was “an obligation that the Maldives undertook voluntarily when you joined the APG in 2008” as a condition of membership.

“There are 41 countries in the APG. They include every country in the Asia/Pacific region with the exception of North Korea and three tiny Pacific states. Among those 41 countries of which Maldives is a member, you are the only country without a comprehensive AML/CFT framework,” he observed.

The anti-money laundering bill was submitted to parliament in late 2013 and sent to the National Security Committee for further review.

The absence of legislation “makes Maldives very vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing,” Dr Hook said.

He added that the vulnerabilities were identified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a report prepared in 2011.

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Assistant Governor Neeza Imad meanwhile told MPs that the Maldives received a very low rating in an assessment by the APG in 2011, after which the central bank began drafting legislation on AML/CFT.

Technical assistance was provided by the APG and the IMF, she noted.

Countries that are listed by the APG for non-compliance with its standards on AML/CFT face “hindrances” in securing foreign direct investment, opening accounts overseas, and conducting international financial transactions, Neeza said.

Consequences

Dr Hook explained that the APG in its annual meeting last year made a unanimous decision to send a high-level delegation to the Maldives “to express concern prior to the next annual meeting”.

Elaborating on the consequences, Dr Hook noted that 14 member states were subject to review last year by the FATF through the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).

“They have what’s called a blacklist and counter measures list. There’s a lot of countries on that list at the moment and there are varying categories on that list. And it doesn’t matter where you are on the list. There are negative consequences to it,” he said.

The consequences include having overseas credit card transactions blocked for citizens of listed countries and the blocking of incoming wire transfers from European banks, Dr Hook said.

“It would be our concern – and the co-chair has expressed that – that the Maldives should not be the subject of those negative consequences at the very time that the Maldives is working very hard to eliminate public debt and to attract foreign investment,” he continued.

The parliament upon returning from recess has “a small window of opportunity” to pass the bill in March, he suggested.

If the legislation is not enacted before the next meeting of the FATF in June, Dr Hook cautioned that the Maldives’ case would be taken under consideration.

“I can indicate that the Maldives is already on a list of jurisdictions that are under consideration by FATF,” he said.

He added that the Maldives “dodged a bullet” last year because the FATF “looked at PNG [Papa New Guinea] as an alternative.”

A review by the FATF “could take upwards to three years,” Dr Hook noted, “during which you in the Maldives would expend a huge amount of resources to try to deal with the issues.”

“You can dodge that bullet if you enact the legislation,” he advised.

Political will

Following statements by the delegation, MP Moosa Manik said that the committee could complete reviewing the legislation in “24 hours” and send it to the floor for a vote in the first week of March.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP urged the delegation to seek a commitment from the executive as the ruling coalition had “a clear majority” in the People’s Majlis.

In response, the delegation said it has met with Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad and was planning to meet Attorney General Mohamed Anil as well as officials from the Maldives Police Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The MDP chairperson also alleged that some pro-government MPs could be involved in money laundering and might oppose enactment of AML/CFT laws.

MP Abdul Azeez – a member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives – however told the delegation that there was “no political will to delay this bill.”

“We are willing to do this and I think it is our obligation to pass this bill for the sake of the nation. There is no will to delay this purposely,” he said.

In his concluding remarks, Colvin said the delegation was encouraged by the assurances from committee members.

“We will make sure that in our report we reflect that. We will need to get back to the [APG] membership and advise them on the progress and we will look on with much interest in March and hope that the bill can make it through the parliament,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comment: Talking of another possible coup

Former President and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supremo Mohamed Nasheed has given what may be seen by some as a timely warning to the nation and incumbent, Abdulla Yameen, about ‘another coup’.

In doing so, he has implied that there is an urgent need for institutional reforms if such a course is to be averted. In an interview to MDP-supported Raajje TV, he claimed that some Supreme Court Judges were also behind what he reiterated was a ‘coup’ to oust him from office in February 2012 – but did not elaborate or provide substantive evidence.

That there is an urgent need for ‘institutional reforms’ in democratised Maldives is conceded readily by all sections of the nation’s polity. Most leaders now in the fray were also members of the Special Majlis that drafted and adopted the current 2008 constitution. For them to concede that they may have blundered, without actually having the courage to acknowledge it as such, should be welcome.

There is, however, a need for urgency in pursuing these issues within a more substantive and meaningful national dialogue. Such a dialogue may have to wait for a new parliament to be elected in the 22 March polls. It will be equally interesting to observe what various political players have to say on such issues during the current campaign period.

The various political positions that could be taken by different political parties will in turn be based on their own experience with the existing constitution (as they perceive it), and their expectations (as they conceive it). There is no guarantee that they would not err again, but ‘dynamic societies’ like the Maldives would always have to make constant and continuing compromises – either now or later.

It may become more difficult under different circumstances and under newer players on a distant day to attempt such changes.

Mis-reading, mis-leading

The present reference to ‘another coup’ apart, this is the second occasion in almost as many weeks that former President Nasheed is hinting at a change of national leadership. On the earlier occasion, media reports quoted him as saying that the MDP would move a no-confidence motion against President Yameen in the post-poll parliament, and have him removed at the first available opportunity?

Such reports will sound credible only if the MDP is able to muster the required two-thirds majority in what will become an 85-member parliament, up from the current strength of 77. It also implies that all MPs belonging to the party would stand by the leadership and its diktat, to vote out the incumbent. Whether it would have to be accompanied simultaneously by a no-trust move also against the incumbent vice-president – if the political strategy was to ensure early polls to the office of the president – is a moot question.

Alternatively, the MDP – which is still the single largest party – both within the People’s Majlis and outside, could muster those numbers if, and only if, MPs belonging to the ruling coalition led by President Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) were to cross floor, either as constituent parties or individual members.

In a country where ‘defection’ has been a password for political survival, both before and after the advent of multi-party democracy, such a scenario is not unimaginable.

In this background, Nasheed’s caution towards the incumbent and the nation is likely to be mis-read and hence misunderstood. Whatever the scenario one were to look at, such a scare has the potential to destabilise the nation’s polity and political administration all over again. In political terms, it could become an electoral tool in the hands of the adversaries of President Nasheed and the MDP, in that order, during the run-up to next month’s polls.

In the ensuing melee, both the MDP and former President Nasheed could be dubbed ‘over-ambitious’ and politically greedy – which need not be the case. The two will have to remember that within the high vote-share for Nasheed in the final-round poll in the November elections, a substantial numbers were ‘non-party’, non-committed voters. Given the turbulent, and at times violent, turn that multi-party democracy has taken since inception in 2008, this section of voters in particular could feel ‘uneasy’ and ‘uncomfortable’.

Going by the second scenario, encouraging defection can cut both ways. The present parliament saw both the MDP losing and gaining from defections. To an extent, it also dependent on the ‘incumbency’ factor. It was among the various factors that helped the MDP become the single largest party after coming second in the 2009 parliamentary polls, and later going on to become the ‘majority party’ as well.

Cross-voting, if not outright defection, also worked against the party’s diktat when MDP parliamentarians more recently helped ensure the mandated Majlis clearance for President Yameen’s cabinet.

It is the third of Nasheed’s possible apprehensions about a ‘possible coup’which should be of greater concern. It is here that his reassurance that he “will do everything” in his “personal capacity” to prevent a coup from taking place assumes significance. Given the context, and the MDP’s claims to his losing power to a coup in the past, it has now become morally, if not legally, binding on both to share whatever details that might come their way, now or in the future, with the nation and the government of the day.

In the same vein, however, Nasheed has possibly reiterated his past reference to a no-confidence vote when telling Raajje TV that “we will work within the legal ambit to ensure that the transition of power takes place through an election”. This may have made the earlier ‘reassurance’ as unsettling as it may be untimely – not only for the nation but possibly for the MDP too.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

High Court rules that MPs’ police obstruction cases cannot be refiled

The High Court has today overruled a decision made by the Criminal Court to accept a previously withdrawn police obstruction case involving MPs Ali Waheed and Ahmed Mahloof.

The case was first filed in the Criminal Court by the Prosecutor General (PG) on 9 November 2010 before being withdrawn twenty days later.

The public prosecutor had argues that the initial case was only withdrawn temporarily while police investigated a related incident.

After the case was again filed in the Criminal Court, defense lawyers of Ali Waheed – which includes former Attorney General Husnu Suood – invoked procedural issues saying that the case could not be refiled.

According to the High Court, on 12 September 2012 the Criminal Court ruled it would proceed with the case, stating that the PG had full authority under the article 5 of the Prosecutor General’s Act to do so.

Ali Waheed subsequently appealed the decision at the High Court, arguing that the PG did not have the authority to re-submit a case without first bringing changes to it.

The High Court’s ruling stated that there were three situations where the PG could withdraw a case filed at a court: to revise the case, to withdraw a case without specifying any reason, or to withdraw a case after telling the court that that the office did not wish to proceed.

The ruling today said that the PG had sent a letter to the Criminal Court on November 29, 2010, asking it to send all the files concerning the case, and that the PG had not stated that the case was being withdrawn for revision.

The High Court said that PG lawyers had explained the withdrawal was because the PG had asked for police to investigate a case where a group of people stormed into the Civil Service Commission. Both cases were related, but the police had not concluded the investigation when hearings into the first case had started.

Ali Waheed was charged with obstruction of police duty during an anti-government protest he had participated in while a member of the then opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).  Waheed, who has since defected to the Maldivian Democratic Party in May 2011, was charged for breaching article 75 of Maldives Police Services Act.

During the hearings held at the High Court, Assistant Public Prosecutor Hussain Nashid claimed that the charges had only been dropped “temporarily” in a bid to respect the “fairness” of criminal trials.

Nashid also argued that the PG had the discretionary power to decide upon the procedures as to how criminal charges can be filed.

Both Waheed and Mahloof were elected to parliament as representatives of the DRP. However, following the split of the DRP into two factions, both Waheed and Mahloof chose to leave the party.

Mahloof went onto join the Progressive Party of Maldives, the party formed by followers of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MDP will empower island councils, says Nasheed

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) MPs will seek to amend the Decentralisation Act to empower local councils, former President Mohamed Nasheed has said.

Speaking at campaign events in Malé last night, Nasheed said the party’s aim was to award a nearby uninhabited island to each island council as a source of income.

“We want each council to conduct business transactions using the island [to generate income] for establishing sewerage and water systems, build roads or even construct a harbour or do work needed for the school – we want to find a way for you to undertake these efforts on your own,” he said.

Under the existing system of governance, Nasheed contended that the central government could not establish “even two sanitation systems” this year due to financial constraints and the current state of the economy.

Nasheed observed that sewerage, water,and electricity has been established in over 100 resort islands.

The MDP’s policy was facilitating guest house or mid-market tourism in inhabited islands in order to make infrastructure projects economically feasible, Nasheed explained.

Nasheed made the remarks at jagaha (campaign hub) opening ceremonies in the Henveiru ward for the MDP’s candidates for the Eydhafushi constituency in Baa atoll, and the Isdhoo constituency in Laamu atoll.

Speaking at the opening of the campaign hub Eydhafushi candidate, Hisaan Hussain, Nasheed said the law had to be amended for islands to benefit from its natural riches.

“We have to change the decentralisation law to give powers to island councils. We have to give the Eydhafushi council the discretion and the resources to reclaim land. One aim of our party is to empower island councils, generate income for island councils, and find ways for island councils to develop their islands,” he said.

Island councils should be able to initiate infrastructure projects such as establishing sewerage systems, Nasheed added.

In his speeches last night, Nasheed urged voters to compare the MDP’s candidates for Eydhafushi and Isdhoo with their opponents in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Both Hisaan and Umar Razzaq were academically qualified and experienced in government administration and public service, Nasheed said.

Meanwhile, speaking at a function held last night to award the party’s ticket to candidates, Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) Leader Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam Mohamed reportedly said that voting for MDP candidates for parliament “could be a sin.”

Voters should not choose MDP candidates because of the party’s track record during its three years in government, the MP for Dhaalu Meedhoo said.

Praising the MDA’s candidates as “competent and educated,” Shiyam assured supporters that MDA MPs would not sell their votes or accept bribes.

“Bribing to obtain votes is haram. You must not do such a thing,” Shiyam said.

“Ruling a nation is like running a company. Developing a country is also putting the economy back on its feet. That is what we are working for,” the resort tycoon added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Adhaalath announces seven candidates for parliament

The Adhaalath Party (AP) announced seven candidates today for constituencies contested by the ruling ‘Progressive Coalition,’ bringing the number of the religious conservative party’s parliamentary candidates to 13 in total.

The candidates announced today were Ali Zahir for the Inguraidhoo constituency, Ibrahim Ahmed for the Madduvari constituency, incumbent MP Ibrahim Muttalib for the Fares-Maathoda constituency, Abdulla Ibrahim for the Kendhikolhudhoo constituency, Hassan Rasheed for the Kudahuvadhoo constituency, and Abdulla Haleem for the Isdhoo constituency.

The party also named the Fiqh Academy Vice President Dr Mohamed Iyaz Abdul Latheef for the Hulhuhenveiru constituency. Dr Iyaz last week sparked controversy as he endorsed the practice of female genital mutilation in an online forum.

AP Spokesperson Ali Zahir said at a press briefing today that the party decided to field candidates for the seven seats as no progress had been made in “unofficial” talks with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) on the possibility of ceding five constituencies for AP candidates.

While the AP has not given up hope of reaching a compromise with the ruling party, Zahir said the party gave tickets to seven more candidates because the deadline for submitting candidacy papers was two days away.

“When they began primaries yesterday, we felt they no longer intend to go forward with us,” he said, adding however that the PPM had “signalled” an interest in further negotiations.

Zahir noted that the PPM conducted primaries yesterday for all five of the constituency requested by the AP.

While the AP “hopes this number [of candidates] will not become higher [than 13],” Zahir said it was possible that the party’s ticket could be awarded to more candidates in the coming days.

The three parties in the governing ‘Progressive Coalition’ reached an agreement last week to allocate the 85 parliamentary constituencies among the coalition partners, with 49 seats assigned for the PPM, 28 seats for the Jumhooree Party (JP), and eight seats for the Maldives Development Alliance.

Following its exclusion from the coalition’s parliamentary election plans, the AP began discussions separately with the three parties on the possibility of allocating constituencies to its candidates.

However, negotiations with the JP ended unsuccessfully after it refused to cede the Vaikaradhoo and Makunudhoo constituencies as requested by the AP.

Last week, the AP announced that it would be fielding candidates in six constituencies contested by the JP.

In addition to the five candidates announced on Wednesday – Anara Naeem for the Makunudhoo constituency in Haa Dhaal atoll, Aishath Haleela for the Vaikaradhoo constituency, Ahmed Zahir for the Komandoo constituency, Asadhulla Shafie for the Kaashidhoo constituency, and Hisham Ahmed for the Meedhoo constituency in Addu City – the AP later announced that State Minister for Home Affairs Abdulla Mohamed was awarded the party’s ticket for the Nolhivaram constituency.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)