A 30 year old Chinese tourist staying at a guesthouse with his wife in the island of Fulhadhoo in Baa Atoll drowned on Tuesday morning.
Police have stated that the man was already dead when taken to the Fulhadhoo Health Centre.
They were made aware of the drowning after his wife had sought help from the island community on Tuesday, mid-morning.
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(0)Attorney General Mohamed Anil has refused to attend the parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing revenue bills after being summoned to a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
The rejection letter sent to the parliament secretariat argued that the bill of amendments to the Tourism Act and T-GST [Tourism Goods and Services Tax] bills include policies compiled by the Economic and Youth Council of the cabinet.
Anil stated that the only role played by the Attorney General’s Office had been to draft the bills as directed by the council.
“As this office has no comments to make on the content of these bills at this moment, I respectfully inform you that I excuse my office from sending staff to attend the meeting we have been invited to,” a parliament official quoted the letter as saying.
Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza has suggested that the absence of the Attorney General (AG) suggests disapproval of government policies.
Upon forming a government late last year, President Abdulla Yameen divided his cabinet into two sub-divisions – a social council and an economic council.
Government aligned parties have initiated special sessions of the parliament in order to extend the duration in which bed taxes can be charged, and also to increase T-GST. The government has also proposed to take full payments as lease from resorts that have extended their contracts.
President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali stated that, while the attorney general’s reasons for refusal are “absolutely clear”, the cabinet has thus far not decided whether it will hold discussions on the relevant policies with the parliament committee.
Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ali Arif – who sits in the committee tasked with reviewing the revenue bills – stated that he would be able to further comment on the matter after deliberations with the attorney general.
“What the AG has actually said is that he has already provided his views on the matter to the cabinet’s Economic Council, and therefore he declines from attending the committee to present the same views,” Arif stated.
Opposing view
An opposition MDP member in the same committee has interpreted the AG’s refusal to attend the committee meeting in a different light.
“Reading between the lines, MDP feels that the AG refused to attend as he does not agree with some of the things proposed by the government,” MDP MP Ahmed Hamza told Minivan News today.
“One of the things we feel he disagrees on is the government’s proposal to change the payment terms for resorts, to cancel the extentions granted to payments in breach of what the government has previously agreed with resort owners,” he continued.
“The other thing is the bed tax. The law says bed tax charges are to be ceased from December 31, 2013. The government is now proposing to continue taking it from January 1, 2014, but there is no law to support this. We feel the AG does not support taking this in retrospect after a law is formed now,” Hamza stated.
The AG, Mohamed Anil, was not responding to calls at the time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)The President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali has called on the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) majority councils to cooperate with the government’s development plans.
Speaking to local media on Monday, Muaz said the MDP majority councils should focus on working with the government to bring development to the citizens.
According to a Minivan News analysis of the local council election results, the MDP has gained a majority in 79 councils and won 457 seats. The ruling coalition which include the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) control 57 councils and won a combined total of 465 seats.
Muaz specifically called on the MDP led Malé City and Addu City Councils to extend cooperation to the government at a time when President Abdulla Yameen’s administration is initiating major development projects.
“The government will of course always respect the decision of the citizens. However, those people who got elected to councils must bear in mind that today the people desire to overcome political turmoil and focus on bringing development to their cities and islands,” Muaz said.
The Elections Commission (EC) completed announcing the preliminary results of the local councils yesterday.
PPM’s view
PPM’s Local Council Election Coordinator Mohamed Ashmali expressed confidence that the local councils, regardless of party affiliation, would work together in the interests of developing their areas.
“I would like to believe that we will see cooperation from the councils. We saw that even in parliament, MDP provided cooperation in passing some bills key to the government and I believe we will see such cooperation even from the councils,” Ashmali stated.
“The councils must communicate with and work together with whichever government is in power in order to do what they must for their constituencies. There are people who are very close to us in other senses in various parties. Political affiliation is a completely different matter anyway,” he said.
“I think the Maldivian people are still a bit new to the party system, but we are seeing a gradual improvement.”
Ashmali said that as the coalition had worked together in the local council elections, it is important to compare results between the MDP and then the coalition as a single unit, instead of separate parties.
“According to our review of the tentative results, coalition partners mainly got the island and atoll councils. In Addu City, it is true we were not able to conduct sufficient work. The turnout there was also relatively quite low – approximately 60 percent. However, compared to previous years, I believe that having gotten three seats in the Malé City council is quite a good achievement,” he stated.
“I did even suggest to Fuwad Thowfeek [Elections Commission President] that the EC places a ballot box for residents of the island, and a single separate box for voters in an island who originate from other constituencies. This would have assisted in getting the preliminary results out much faster. By just counting the boxes specific to each constituency, citizens and parties would have learnt sooner which seats had been won or lost. This is the information which the parties would most pressingly need after an election,” he added.
No manifesto
MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor confirmed that the party’s approach would be to focus on holding the government accountable and to remain a responsible opposition.
“The councils will display a healthy mix of being a responsible opposition and holding the government accountable,” Hamid said.
“The issue that may arise is that while government asks for cooperation, they don’t even have a manifesto to show. This will cause local councils to ask them what it is that they want cooperation for. That it is unclear what exactly the government plans to do,” he continued.
“The thing, however, is that the culture of the past system is still prevailing in the government’s approach. They tend to treat local councils in the manner they approached the former island chief systems, and tend to ignore the fact that councillors are elected and not appointed like island chiefs, and the fact that councillors have a legal mandate and rights,” Hamid said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Implementation of the death penalty “is not advisable” without cabinet and parliamentary approval, Attorney General Mohamed Anil has told local media.
Last week, Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer ordered the Maldives Correctional Services to prepare for the implementation of the death penalty through lethal injection, despite the lack of laws administering capital punishment.
Naseer said he had sought advice from Anil before signing the order, but Anil refused to comment on the matter.
Instead, he said Naseer’s order had not been discussed in the cabinet. Anil has called for an advisory mechanism within the cabinet stating that the president of a Muslim country bears a personal responsibility in the implementation of death sentences.
“It is crucial that there is an established mechanism through which the cabinet of ministers has a role, and the president gets the opportunity to make an informed decision about the matter. However, the order recently released by the Home Minister was not conducted through such a process,” Anil said.
The best method to implement death penalty is through legislation passed by the parliament, he added.
Although the current legislative framework does not mandate legislation for the implementation of death penalty, Anil said broad and in-depth discussions needed to take place before the change in policy.
Since 1954, Maldives has had a moratorium on the death penalty, with the president commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
“When we are bringing about such a huge change in policy, there are discussions that we must undertake within the cabinet, as well as with the Parliament. I do not believe it is the best thing to do to implement such a sentence at this moment without first going through these motions,” he said.
Former Attorney General Azima Shakoor had drafted a bill on the administration of the death penalty, but the government does not have a time frame to submit the bill to parliament, Anil said.
Once the parliament passes the bill, the death penalty can be implemented in retrospect, he added.
High crime rates in recent years has lead to widespread public support for the death sentence, Anil claimed.
“The rate of crime is rapidly increasing in the Maldives. This includes crimes of a heavily serious nature. Things are escalating to the point where individuals do not even hesitate when committing crimes,” he said.
“Therefore, I believe that the best medium through which we can get the general public’s view on the matter is through the parliament. It is imperative that the parliament holds a debate and comes to a decision on the matter.”
Anil also highlighted the importance of a responsible justice system, pointing out that implementation of such a sentence is in nature an irreversible act.
Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer said he wished to refrain from commenting on the matter at this stage.
Naseer’s order followed the passing of the death sentence on Hussain Humam Ahmed on charges of murdering the moderate religious scholar and MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in October 2012.
President Abdulla Yameen told local media on Friday that Naseer had released the order under his mandate, but without prior discussion with the cabinet. The cabinet would hold in depth discussions about the matter before coming to a final discussion, he added.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has called on the Maldives to halt any plans to end the current moratorium on the death penalty, calling such moves “a retrogade step and a serious setback for human rights in the country”.
In May 2013, the UN country team also called for the abolition of death penalty in the Maldives, stating “in view of the country’s more than 50 year moratorium, the UN calls upon the Maldives to take the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to its international human rights obligations, and abolish the death penalty”.
The last execution in the Maldives was the death of Hakim Didi in 1954 who was sentenced to death for practicing black magic.
(0)Dislikes(0)Following a feature article on the status of the fisheries industry – in which Minivan News spoke to local fishermen about their various concerns, an additional interview was conducted with the concerned cabinet minister about these issues.
Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee spoke to Minivan News about his political career, and the policies and plans of his ministry.
Shainee was appointed to his position on November 19, 2013 – two days after the new administration came to office. This is his first appointment to a cabinet position.
Mariyath Mohamed: With agriculture and fisheries being such a major component of our economy, what are the main achievements you seek to fulfill in this five year term as a minister overseeing these sectors?
Mohamed Shainee: I believe, as you rightly pointed out that fisheries and agriculture are a major part of the economy. But at this moment, I don’t believe it is well-represented in the economy as a vibrant sector. So, in these five years, what I would like to achieve is incorporating the fisheries and agriculture sector into the very vibrant economy of the Maldives. What I mean to say is that the fisheries and agriculture sectors should both be able to stand alone on its feet, without injecting any subsidies into them. It will be quite an achievement if I am able to do this. Five years is a very short time to change the way we’ve been doing things in these two sectors for a very long time. So I believe it will be a very good achievement if I can complete at least part of it in these five years.
MM: This being you first time serving in a cabinet, what are the main challenges you face?
MS: As a cabinet member, I don’t think there are any challenges. But the country has gone through many phases of instability and that is still present in the social fabric of the country. So I think it will be a challenge to get people’s trust built in the government, because we have passed through five years of lots of instability in the government or country. So it will be very difficult for the people to believe that the government will do something that is good and more solid for the people. So I believe that it will be a massive challenge to assure the public that we will really, sincerely do what we have promised to the public. So I guess, as a cabinet problem, there will not be a challenge.
And from what we have seen so far, I believe that the opposition is also willing to give the government, to prove whether we can or cannot do the promises in our manifesto. So I believe that we are now at a stage where we have a healthy government and a healthy opposition, which really is necessary for a country to move forward.
I don’t think there are any challenges within the cabinet, as all the cabinet ministers are well-educated and have the background, the knowledge, and the drive to pursue fulfillment of the manifesto we have put forward for the people.
MM: The government’s pledges include providing an allowance of MVR10,000 a month to fishermen during lean months. How will the government implement this and when?
MS: I have already announced that in the first quarter of this year I will reveal guidelines of how this will be done. It’s very simple: the system is an insurance scheme. If you take a look at PPM’s manifesto, you will see that the first pledge in the fisheries section is to provide fishermen with an installment or some form of payment in the lean months. And then after policy number two, we have policy number three. This is where we talk of introducing new people to the profession and increasing productivity of fisheries. There we talk about our aims and visions, one of which is that there won’t be a single perceived fisherman – I mean, when we talk about fishermen, there is skipjack fishery and yellowfin fishery, so not all fishermen – but on average, every fisherman will get about MVR 10,000 per month for their wages. This is where both of these combine together and becomes the slogan “10,000 regardless of catch”. In fact, we have already put together the forms to open up a registry for this particular scheme. We already know how many fishermen there are in this country, but for this particular insurance scheme we need to open up a new register.
It’s very simple. If you look at the skipjack fishing statistics for last year, you will see three or four months which are very difficult for the fishermen. The real goal of this is sustainability.
So the aim of the government is to ensure that even during these difficult months fishermen stay in the industry. For that reason, during those few months we want to give a payment so that they can do their basic necessities, so they can fulfill their daily obligations towards their family.
The MVR10,000 scheme is a top-up system. We actually do not want to inject subsidies into the industry. That is what I said in response to your first question – that I want the industry to work on its own in a vibrant, active manner. If we start giving subsidies, we will always remain dependent on subsidies. As you well know, subsidies are an injection of capital into an area where things have gone a little out of the ordinary. So, we needed that kind of subsidy from 2004 onwards as the catch amounts had gone down. So yes, in those days we needed a subsidy to make fishermen remain in the industry.
But it is slowly catching up. In 2013 we have seen productivity increasing. So now we need to make the industry stand alone and be more vibrant and shock-proof to absorb these shocks. We need to devise a way to get people’s minds set on the idea that they can work in the industry.
The real reason is the sustainability of the fishermen in the industry to keep them in the field during this low season. This is because what we don’t want is for fishermen to turn to other sectors in these difficult months because we need the fishing industry to run as it does now and get further developed. That is the main idea behind this.
MM: President Yameen has announced that the ministry is compiling a register of existing fishermen. According to your statistics of 2012, there were 10,264 registered fishermen at the time of the report. What is the need for a completely new register, and how much time do you estimate it will take for the completion of this register?
MS: We do have a register, but we are not sure they are inclusive of all the fishermen. This is because always a registry is maintained for a service. And we have the subsidy for which they are automatically registered, so we know exactly how many fishermen there are.
But for this specific purpose, we need to build a new registry. We need a new registry for the insurance scheme as this will be done by a second party.
We are considering for this purpose the government fund management agency NSPA, for example, to deliver this service to fishermen.
MM: Many fishermen I have interviewed have raised concerns about the decreasing price of fish. Does the ministry have any plans to address this?
MS: Yes, that is true. Every year in this time when the supply increases, the demand goes down and so prices go down. But one thing we did not say in the manifesto this time is that we will give a set price to the fishermen. But for the same reasons I said before – that we want an economically viable system to be in place – what we have said is we will give the best price to the fishermen.
And to assure that, what we have done is we have put in clauses or actions in the manifesto to make it transparent – to let fishermen know that the price they are getting is exactly the best maximum price that they can get.
So for that reason, in the first few months of the government we have made a Fisheries Promotion Board to diversify our business to various markets. Insha Allah, I have gotten four countries interested – I’m looking into the arab markets, the Russian markets, the Chinese market and the Pakistani market, who are also very interested in diversifying.
So in fact, there is a lot of work being done in all these fronts to diversify markets, because what we cannot do is to rely on one specific market – which is the European market. I mean, the European market still is the largest and the biggest and the most important market for the country. But still, if we rely on one single market, any shock to that market will be felt very badly in the country here. So we are trying to diversify, that is one action.
The other thing is in this promotion board, for the first time, we have a fisherman in the board. This is to show to other fishermen that we are working on their behalf and that the price that they are getting really is the best price they can get. On top of that, even in the ministry website, we are now publishing the yearly rates of skipjack in the market. This, as well, is for the reason that we want fishermen to know they are getting the best price. So that when they go to any buyer, they can’t fool the fishermen now.
MM: You have said there is a fisherman on the Fisheries Promotion Council itself. How was he appointed?
MS: Yes. What we are trying to advocate from the ministry is for the formation of associations or co-operatives to voice for other fishermen, or vessel owners, or other sectors – to voice out through one body.
If I listen to one individual, and go to another island and listen to another fisherman, it will be totally different. Even in the same island, there will be different views. One way of doing it is for the vehicle to make the co-operatives.
At this time, in this country we have only one running organisation, which is the Fishermen’s Association. So we requested them to give us a candidate from the fisheries who is an active fisherman to be on the board. So so far we have only one that is functioning, and that is where we selected the fisherman from.
The fisherman on the board is from Alif Dhaalu Atoll, I believe. He is a skipjack fisherman and has sat in the past three or four sittings of the board.
MM: Another concern of numerous fishermen is the rising cost of fuel and ice, which in turn raises their overhead fees and brings down the profit they earn. While you have already said that the government wants to cut down on subsidies, what other plans does the state have to assist fishermen facing this issue?
MS: Yes, of course we are increasing the number of ice plants. In fact, one of the ice plants which has been idle for a few years now will be up and running in a few months time when we [open bidding on] this plant located in Thaa [Atoll] Guraidhoo. Insha allah, this will be done in the next few months.
And the other ice plant which, again, has been idle for the past three or four months is in Haa Alif [Atoll] Ihavandhoo. This will probably be starting from January 22 onwards. There are certain areas where we can reduce the price and one of the ways is by increasing the number of ice plants. Three ice plants will come in operation, insha Allah, this year.
What it actually does is it allows the fishermen to sell the fish at a higher price.
And unfortunately – I have to say unfortunately – the culture of the fishermen is they are very passionate about what they are doing. So if one of the fishermen builds a boat, the next one wants to build a bigger and nicer boat. So that has been an issue. We have been advocating that the increasing of fishing vessels to over a certain limit is not economically feasible. And already the fishermen have realised that ‘yes, we have a 35 tonne fishing boat, but how many days in a year does a fisherman actually catch 35 tonnes of fish?’
I think people will realise in time that we cannot keep increasing the size of the vessel and that we need an economic size. And we have shown through our ministry’s research that 85 feet is a manageable and economical size.
But now the real issue is that fuel prices have gone up and it will be difficult for us to stop that. But indirectly, the government is also working to get fuel at a cheaper price. In fact, the President His Excellency Abdulla Yameen has in his last visit had some negotiations with the Indian government to get fuel at a cheaper price. We are looking at other ways to land projects in the Maldives which will help us get fuel, diesel at better prices.
I am also on this committee in the government which has already started to explore for oil in the Maldives. So, these are long term, but indirectly we are trying to bring down the consumption or price of fuel in the country.
MM: The Malé City Council has announced that fishermen will have to take a special licence to sell their catch in stalls at the fishmarket. Which institution holds the mandate for this and does the Fisheries Ministry have any involvement in this?
MS: Like yourself, I am also confused in this area. We have a sort of tug of war going on between the council and the ministry and other institutions. But recently – about two or three weeks back – the council met with the ministry asking for our help in managing the fishmarket.
The truth is that until then we did not know what was happening on the other side. But now, after the new government came into place the council met with us and we are giving colloboration to the government.
In fact, I think it is today or next week we are planning to have training for the council members so that they know what the hygiene standards should be, what the methods are… And so we have requested them to give us the plan for the fishmarket so that we can give them the technical backing and advise them on how to build a market so that it is more hygienic.
So, I think it is a collaborative effort between the council and the ministry. We have a bigger role to ascertain that the public is safe and getting the right fish, so that everything goes smoothly. On the other hand, the council has the municipal right over the market. I think we can do this hand in hand. I believe this will happen now much better as things are happening much better now than a few months before.
MM: Are you supportive of the council’s initiative to lease stalls at the fishmarket?
MS: What I heard from the council, which is the truth, is that there a lot of issues in the fishmarket. And one way of always managing is through licenses or some mechanism where you have power over whom you allow and whom you don’t allow. So that might be a good idea.
But I don’t think it should be at a rate which is difficult for the fishermen. It should be a nominal fee just for the registration. It should just be a management fee, and not for business purposes. I think the idea – I don’t know, I haven’t heard from the council – but I believe the idea is to create a managed system rather than an open system. I think it should be that way. So that it is well-managed and not just anyone can go and do unhygienic practices there.
MM: What are the main countries that fish are exported to, via the state enterprise MIFCO and otherwise? What are the challenges faced in exportation of fisheries products in recent days?
MS: The EU is by far the biggest market, especially for yellowfin tuna. But apart from that, the industry also exports to the US, as well as some to Canada, to Japan, and other markets as well. I don’t have all the details of it at the moment but the EU is the biggest market, as well as the US then. And Japan is also another market to which we export certain type and grade of fish.
On the other hand, skipjack tuna is mainly exported to Bangkok. But if they are value-added, processed, then the can again goes to Europe, so that remains our main market.
MM: The president has appealed to the British high commissioner to impress upon the EU the importance of extending GSP plus facilities to the Maldives again. What do you think the chances of this happening are?
MS: I think it can be done, because I think in the past EU and Maldives have had a good relationship as countries. So I don’t think it is impossible for this to happen. It’s just more about bilateral relations and understanding.
I mean, looking at one side, the European market or consumer will be affected from this as well. There will a lot of pressure from the consumer’s side, as when prices of fish go up, it’s not just us carrying the burden, but also the consumers. So I think there will be a lot of pressure.
I think there will be a lot of pressure because when you look at Europe, people are more educated and want these kinds of niche products.
Maldives is the only country that doesn’t catch by-catch fish. We are dolphin free. We are catching one by one. We are the most green fisheries industry in the world, in fact. So I am sure the consumers in the European market would like to get something from this side of the world which is more green and environmental friendly.
There is no reason why it can’t be done. I think as an Islamic country – a Muslim country – we have worked together well in the past. There’s no reason why we can’t.
MM: Being a low lying island state, the Maldives is vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change. What do you see as the threats of climate change to the fishing industry? Is the ministry taking any steps to counter them?
MS: I think what we have felt in the past is actually part of this changing of the climate. And for us, it would be the change in the temperature of the surface water. Because we are very environmentally friendly fishermen who catch fish from the surface waters.
If the surface water gets a bit hot, then the fish swims deeper. So we need to penetrate through that layer of the ocean to get access to the fish. That is why we have already introduced long line fishing. That is to diversify from just one way of fishing.
Again, we will be very vulnerable if we commit to just one form of fishery. It is a good sign that in terms of income, we are meeting expectations by value in yellowfin and skipjack fishery. So we already have diversified into two forms of fishing. This is one of the ideas.
Another idea or another front we are working on is mariculture and aquaculture, which also is a way to minimise the impacts on the natural fishery that we have. This is because, from what we have seen, it is more seasonal, – about a ten year cycle. But even in those times, to reduce the impact of climate related issues, we need to diversify fisheries. That is what they policy is.
MM: What are the main challenges besides environmental, faced by the fishing industry, as well as the ministry, and what are the state’s plans to deal with them?
MS: The biggest challenge is actually the budget. As you know, over the years, the government has acquired a lot of debt. And that is a challenge for the government and one of our pledges is that by the third year we will get rid of the debt.
So during these two years, it will be harder to fund any of the projects from the government’s side, so we have to find innovative ways to do so. And that we are already doing. I mean, the ministry’s plan has not decreased because we don’t have sufficient funds. But there are ways we can do this. And that’s why the government’s plan is to enable the industry to become a more vibrant industry rather than the government doing business.
So we have already given up on a lot of the businesses that we do, and we are promoting that the private partners should come and invest, and we will give them concessions so that we work in hand in hand to get what is required.
So the biggest challenge, I think, for the ministry, the government and the whole country, is the cash flow issue and the tightness of the budget.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested a 48 year old male from the island of Goidhoo in Baa Atoll on charges of engaging in the crime of human trafficking. In addition to him, seven expatriates were also arrested under the same case.
According to police, six of the seven expatriates had been working without work permits, and the remaining one had been in hiding from the sponsor who had initially brought him into the country.
The seven expatriates – who had previously lived on the island of Fehendhoo in Baa Atoll – had been taken to Goidhoo after a notice had been released to take them under police custody.
The trafficking arrest is the first made after the ratification of the Anti Human Trafficking Act last month.
(0)Dislikes(0)The government’s coalition announced on Sunday that it had finished dividing seats for the upcoming parliamentary elections between the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and the Jumhooree Party (JP).
According to the coalition, the PPM will be contesting in 49 areas, the JP in 28, and the MDA in 8.
PPM Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem stated that the division had gone according to the initial agreements made within the coalition during the presidential election.
He acknowledged that the parties had failed to get some of the seats that they requested, but affirmed that all seats had been allocated after much deliberation between party leaders.
He stated that special attention had been given to parties with incumbent parliamentarians in order that they could hold on to those constituencies.
“The areas have been decided upon as per the agreement of all three parties. To be honest, there wasn’t much debate. Everyone took care to make decisions in a manner that had least negative affect on the coalition, and would assist in getting us the most number of seats,” he is quoted as saying in local media.
Raheem had his phone switched off at the time of press.
Parties free to give seats to Adhaalath: PPM
The ruling party stated that, while religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) was excluded from the coalition’s Majlis plan, the parties are free to give the AP seats from those allocated to them.
Abdul Raheem informed local media that coalition parties will discuss the matter in the near future.
“In reality, Adhaalath is not an official part of this Progressive Coalition. So the parties’ idea is to give them what we can from the seats which have been allocated to us,” he stated.
He further stated that Adhaalath had made some requests of the coalition, adding that all of them cannot be fulfilled. He declined from providing details of the request.
“As far as I am aware, JP is considering giving some seats to the AP. The number of seats, or from where, has not been decided yet,” JP Secretary General Hassan Shah told Minivan News today.
JP acting secretary general Dr Mohamed Saud said that he was unable to talk at the time of press.
Adhaalath hopeful of inclusion
The Adhaalath Party, which has previously raised concerns of being excluded from the coalition’s plans, remained hopeful of inclusion – even if via separate parties in the coalition.
“We are still in the hope that the coalition will give us some seats. Now, it is true that we are not an official partner that joined the coalition under share agreements like the JP did. So it cannot be termed as contesting via a separate coalition party even if it is not the full coalition that is giving us seats,” AP Spokesperson Ali Zahir said.
“Of course, there is a limit to what we will accept. If it is way below expectations, then we will not accept it and will proceed to contest separately. I am hopeful that a reasonable solution can be found. We will only know this once the discussions are set into motion,” he explained.
The AP has previously announced that it has members possessing masters or doctorate level qualifications interested in running in 32 different constituencies.
(0)Dislikes(0)Saudi Arabian organisation Al Hayat al Alamiya li Tadabbur al Quran ul Karim has decided to run a program to promote Quranic studies in the Maldives.
Delegates from the organisation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs on Sunday night, under which they have pledged to spend MVR1.6 million for related projects.
According to Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, the organisation will assist the Maldives in the field in numerous ways – including the establishment of a distance study program at the Centre of Quran and the establishment of a system where modern facilities can be used to research Quranic disciplines.
Providing information about the visit of the eleven delegates from the Saudi organisation, Shaheem stated that they have pledged to further develop the “Kulliyath Ul Madhrasathul Dhiraasaa” in the Maldives and to translate their literature into the Maldivian Dhivehi script.
(0)Dislikes(0)The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has voiced concerns that, despite it’s assistance in the presidential elections of 2013, the government coalition is failing to include the party in its allocation of constituencies for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
A senior council member of Adhaalath Party (AP) – who wished to remain unnamed – told Minivan News that the party has been excluded from seat allocation discussions currently being held between the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and its coalition partners the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).
A representative of the PPM has explained that discussions are first being held with those parties engaged in official agreements with President Yameen’s party before considering electoral arrangements with the religious party.
He alleged that the parties have been in discussions for the past two days while Adhaalath, despite having candidates interested in contesting for 32 constituencies, awaits a response from the group.
“Although there are candidates interested in running for 32 areas, we will understand if the coalition is able to give us somewhat fewer slots. While we are willing to come to an agreement with the coalition on the number of areas to run in, the coalition has so far not given us any opportunity to engage in such a discussion,” he stated.
According to the council member, should the coalition fail to leave sufficient time for campaigning before reaching a decision, the AP will contest separately in the polls.
He further opined that the AP “might be the single party that is bringing out the most number of extremely qualified candidates, with almost all of them having educational qualifications of Masters or Doctorate level”.
AP Spokesperson Ali Zahir confirmed to Minivan News that the party has so far not had any official communication from the coalition regarding the matter.
“We have not yet come to an absolute decision that the coalition is completely cutting us out. We are still awaiting a response from them, which I think will happen after they allocate seats to the parties with whom they already have written agreements. If, however, the coalition does not wish to cooperate with us, we will contest – even if separately,” Zahir explained.
Will consider including AP: PPM
Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan stated that he had learned of the AP’s interest in running in the parliamentary elections approximately a week ago, and that he had conveyed the message to decision makers within the party.
“The thing is, the PPM has official coalition agreements with the JP and MDA. The AP did not join us on an agreement basis. So we can only consider options of sharing seats with AP after we manage to come to an agreement with JP and MDA,” Nihan said.
“The AP usually just communicates with the ruling party through Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, who acts as a middleman. This should not remain so, there must be official communication between the two parties. I will need to check if they have even submitted an official letter asking for coalition cooperation in the parliamentary elections,” he continued.
“After the November 10 elections, the AP came to meet with our then presidential candidate, incumbent President Abdulla Yameen. They said then that they wished to back Yameen and that they would do so without setting any conditions for the agreement. This is why they are excluded from the agreements on the upcoming election,” Nihan said.
“So the thing is, we will first agree upon which seats will be divided between PPM, JP and MDA. As you know, the coalition agreement with JP agrees to give them 33% of the constituencies,” Nihan continued.
“As for the MDA, we have a far too close relationship with them. To use a metaphor, they are a party that married us without dowry. Due to the close nature of the relationship between MDA leader Siyam and Yameen, there are no written agreements between us. But they will be allocated seats as the two parties have never had any friction,” Nihan said.
AP Spokesperson Zahir said that he had no comments to make on the MDA getting seats despite not having a written agreement like the AP, saying “in any case, AP will never be treated like the MDA is treated. We will reveal our thoughts on the matter when the time comes”.
Nihan stated that he hoped the coalition would meet with the AP and come to an agreement, so as not to disadvantage the coalition.
President Yameen has previously called on the AP to contest alongside the coalition, as running separately may lead to vote splitting – benefiting the political opposition.
Earlier in January, the PPM had claimed discussions had been initiated with the AP regarding parliamentary elections, though the AP claims that no official talks have been held to date.
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