Tag: minivan news

First round of new presidential election scheduled for October 19, with one day for re-registration

Additional reporting by Ahmed Nazeer

First-time voters, or eligible voters who wish to vote on Oct 19 somewhere other than their currently-registered location, must re-register.

Voter re-registration is open from 6:00pm-12:00am Wednesday Oct 9, and 9:00am-12:00am Thursday Oct 10. Forms are available at all island council offices, Addu City Council departments, diplomatic missions and at www.elections.gov.mv. In Malé forms will be accepted at the Elections Commission’s registration center on Handhuvaree Hingun.

Check your registration by SMSing 1414 ‘VIS ID#’, or call the hotline on the same number.

With the Elections Commission (EC) rapidly preparing to re-hold the presidential election’s first round October 19 in accordance with the timetable established by the Supreme Court verdict, Maldivians will have only 15 hours for re-registration.

The Supreme Court late Monday night (October 7) annulled the first round of the Maldives presidential election in a 4:3 decision. Citing a secret police report on alleged electoral irregularities, the court ordered fresh elections by October 20 with enhanced police and government involvement.

The Supreme Court verdict was issued despite unanimous positive assessment of the polling by more than a thousand local and international election observers, while the police report on which it was supposedly based has not been made public and was not shown to the EC’s defence lawyers.

In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the EC has decided to hold the presidential election on October 19, the commission announced yesterday.

“The commission is concerned and regrets the inconvenience that people might have to face because the election is close to the Eid holidays,” the EC noted.

Meanwhile, the government is preparing to shut down from October 11 until October 19 for the Eid al-Adha holidays.

In order to have the elections in the duration given by the Supreme Court, the EC can provide only one day for re-registration, said the commission.

The EC has appealed to all citizens who wish to re-register to do it as soon as the re-registration process is opened, which the commission announced would begin this evening.

Maldivians can re-register to vote from 6:00pm to 12:00am today and 9:00am to 6:00pm tomorrow, EC Secretary General Asim Abdul Sattar told local media.

Individuals who do not re-register during the allotted period will remain registered to vote in the location finalised in the second round’s voter registration list, said Sattar.

The EC will be accepting grievances and complaints, however they will not be able to provide a specific window of time to do so, he noted.

According to normal procedure the EC is legally required to provide a time-frame for complaints to be lodged prior to the re-registration process, however the commission’s dates are restricted due to the Supreme Court’s verdict, he added.

Re-registration is necessary for those intending to vote at a polling station other than that listed with the Elections Commission, such as a worker based on a resort island or student in Male. Similarly, Maldivians residing abroad are also required to re-register in order to vote in the country of residence.

Presidential candidates

Presidential candidates who ran in the first round of polling September 7 will not be asked to re-file their candidacy and no new candidates will be allowed to compete in the election,  the EC Secretary General told local media.

Since presidential hopefuls cannot withdraw their candidacy, the order candidates will appear on the ballot paper will remain the same for the re-running of the first round.

“The candidates cannot withdraw their names once they are arranged [for the ballot paper],” said Sattar.

President Mohamed Waheed, who received 5.13 percent of votes in the September 7 election, has made no indication of a decision to change his participation in the re-run, Sattar noted. If President Waheed decides to recall his candidacy, the commission will make a decision after consulting with its legal department.

Waheed’s vice presidential running mate, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, announced yesterday (October 8 ) that he intends to maintain his new alliance with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) going into the re-scheduled presidential elections.

Thasmeen and his DRP announced their decision to support former President Mohamed Nasheed in the run-off, previously scheduled for September 28, days after Waheed received just five percent of the popular vote.

Repeat first round presidential candidates – in order of their ballot placement – are Gasim Ibrahim, Incumbent President Mohamed Waheed, Abdulla Yameen, and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Election funds

The Finance Ministry had agreed to provide MVR 30 million (US$1,939,230) to hold the election, EC Secretary General Asim Abdul Sattar told local media.

The commission’s calculations show that it will cost MVR 30 million (US$1,939,230) to print ballot papers, pay the officials and cover other costs, said Sattar.

The Finance Ministry had also agreed to provide MVR 27 million (US$1,747,575) for a second round runoff, if necessary.

The ministry will provide funds for the election as legally mandated, but some state-funded programs will have to be sacrificed to do so, Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad said yesterday.

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Elections Commission consults with government over re-scheduled presidential election

Elections Commission (EC) members met with the government today in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order to consult relevant authorities within 72 hours of its verdict, regarding the re-scheduling fresh presidential elections by its October 20 deadline.

The Supreme Court late last night annulled the first round of the election in a 4:3 decision. Citing a secret police report on alleged electoral irregularities, the court ordered fresh elections by October 20 with enhanced police and government involvement.

After the Majlis meeting today, Independent Institutions Committee member Hamid Abdul Ghafoor described the verdict as “incomprehensible”, and as “technically and logistically not possible”.

The Supreme Court verdict was issued despite unanimous positive assessment of the polling by more than a thousand local and international election observers, while the police report on which it was supposedly based has not been made public and was not shown to the EC’s defence lawyers.

The EC was forced to postpone the presidential election’s second round, citing a lack of state cooperation that prevented the commission from holding a “free and fair vote without intimidation, aggression, undue influence or corruption” on September 28.

The announcement was made September 27, shortly before the EC secretariat was surrounded by Special Operations police with orders from Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz to take over the building and ballot papers should it proceed with election preparations.

Parliament

EC officials met with parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee at 12:30pm today, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ghafoor told Minivan News today.

Although committee meetings are normally closed to the public, with the EC’s consent the committee agreed to talk to the media openly about today’s proceedings, Ghafoor explained.

“EC officials refused to leave the Supreme Court last night until they were given a copy of the verdict, which wasn’t provided until 1:30am,” said Ghafoor.

“The Supreme Court totally changed the EC’s mandate in their verdict,” he continued. “They have created a mandate that is totally different from what the law requires.”

Ghafoor highlighted some of the inconsistencies and “constitutional contradictions” within the verdict.

“It requires one new staff member to be hired for each ballot box to conduct ‘new functions’, although it’s not clear what those functions will be,” explained Ghafoor. “That’s 470 new people that have to be hired and trained in the next 12 days.”

“Additionally, the constitution stipulates the final voter list is the EC’s responsibility, but the Supreme Court verdict requires that the commission consider the list provided by the Department of National Registration (DNR) as their primary source,” said Ghafoor.

“The problem with the DNR is that because of bad management there are various errors with their list, which is why the EC should be the final arbiter of the voter registry. The sole authority of the list is up to them according to the constitution,” he continued. “The Supreme Court verdict contradicts the constitution.”

By law it is up to the EC to decide election dates, however the constitutionally-mandated timeline “has been squashed”, noted Ghafoor. “The Supreme Court did not consult with the EC about the new timeline prior to issuing the verdict.”

In a previous meeting with the Independent Institutions Committee, the EC had said that the commission would require 19 to 21 days to conduct the election in a matter that was satisfactory and does justice to free and fair elections, Ghafoor explained.

“The more sinister aspect of this forced timeline, is that it opens up the process to corruption and vote rigging,” he highlighted.

The Supreme Court has made “a right royal mess of this”, he lamented.

The EC also told the parliamentary committee that they had requested to meet Supreme Court Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain today, as they wanted to consult all three branches of government, the executive, legislature, and judiciary, Ghafoor explained.

However, the Chief Justice instead agreed to meet the EC at his convenience tomorrow (October 9) at 9:00am.

“They are very professional in their approach, doing it by the book,” said Ghafoor. “We are very happy to have such a strong Elections Commission.”

State-funded programs to be sacrificed for elections

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad told local media today that the department was “legally obligated” to provide election funds, despite the lack of these available.

“We will arrange the funds even if it is from the contingency budget. But it will be an extremely difficult process. But we will provide funds for the elections. However, sacrifices will have to be made. We will have to stop some state-funded programs,” said Jihad.

He noted that the EC had not yet discussed the budget needed to re-hold the presidential election with the Finance Ministry.

In a previous interview with Minivan News, when asked what the EC would do if the Supreme Court annulled the first round results, EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek noted: “The government has spent over MVR30 million (US$1,949,310) on the first round, there is no budget remaining [to hold both rounds again].”

“If it’s difficult for the government to provide the additional budget for the second round, there will be so many difficulties if the [results are annulled and] voting rounds are held again,” said Thowfeek.

The estimated cost of the presidential election was MVR96 million (US$6,213,600) – the now-annulled first round cost MVR69 million (US$4,466,025) and MVR27 million (US$1,747,575) was allotted for the second round, according to local media.

However, re-holding the election has reportedly increased the total estimated cost to over MVR 100million (US$6,472,500).

The government is currently relying on short-term treasury bills (T-bills) to “roll over” debts on a monthly basis to address the budgetary shortfall, as recurrent expenditures for 2013 were exceeded in April.

To supplement the state budget President Dr Mohamed Waheed has been seeking to secure multi-million dollar foreign loans from financial authorities in Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India and China.

President’s Office

Thowfeek and EC Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz met with President Waheed this morning (October 8 ) in the President’s Office. Local media reported that Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen and Attorney General Azima Shakoor also attended.

During the meeting, President Waheed called upon the EC to carry out the Supreme Court’s order to hold the presidential election’s first round in accordance with the verdict.

Waheed assured the commissioners that the government would “give all its support and cooperation” to the EC, including budgetary, security, human resources and infrastructure assistance as required.

“It is especially important that the integrity of the entire elections process is enhanced and maintained,” Waheed emphasised.

He noted that ensuring the presidential election is held in a smooth and peaceful manner is the government’s priority and that it is important “everyone puts forward national interests ahead of everything else”.

The  government is meanwhile preparing to shut down for the Eid al-Adha holidays, which commence on October 11 through to October 19, a day before the Supreme Court’s election deadline.

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Party Island: Sun Island resort employees allege purge of MDP staff

Employees at Sun Island Resort and Spa have accused its management of firing a large number of staff based solely on their political affiliation and suspected support for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Sources from the resort allege that over 30 staff members have been fired following the announcement of the results of the first round of the presidential elections, held on September 7.

Sun Island is owned by resort tycoon and Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim, who contested in the first round, finishing third with 24.07 percent of the vote. Gasim subsequently submitted a case to the Supreme Court alleging fraudulent voting, which eventually resulted in the decision to annul the first round on October 7.

According to the results of the ballot box placed on Sun Island in first round, the JP received 206 votes and the MDP 60 votes. Meanwhile, the Progressive Party of Maldives got a total of eight votes while independently contesting incumbent President Dr Mohamed Waheed did not receive any votes.

Staff at Irufushi Beach and Spa resort have also recently expressed concern over a “firing spree” affecting staff members professing to support the MDP.

Yellow T-shirt leads to multiple dismissals

Eighteen year old Zamin Abdul Raheem told Minivan News of the circumstances under which he was dismissed without notice from his post at Sun Island, after almost a year of service.

“We were doing some community cleaning work in the staff area after my duty hours, and I happened to be wearing a yellow T-shirt on the day. While a supervisor and I were having a chat, the general manager (GM) walked up and angrily asked me why I was wearing a T-shirt of this colour and said very angrily and accusingly ‘finally your political views and the candidate you voted for are being revealed’,” Zamin explained.

“I replied, saying the colour of my attire reveals nothing, that I wear various colours. I said I had cast a secret vote, as is in the law, which made the GM angrier. He retorted ‘we’ll see about that’ and stormed off. By 6:00pm that day I got a call from the Human Resources Department (HR) asking me not to report to duty. Three hours later, they called again and informed me that I’d been fired, though they couldn’t specify a reason for it,” he said.

According to multiple sources at the resort, the supervisor was also fired on the same day, after management questioned him as to why he had been “standing so care-freely with a man who dared to wear yellow”.

Two other staff members claimed that they were fired for going to the jetty to see off the dismissed staff, with whom they had worked closely.

“The constitution of the Maldives clearly guarantees us the right to support any political party we prefer. I told the management too that I will not be enslaved by anyone, just because Gasim gave us a job he thinks he is entitled to have the management force us to vote for him and go to his rallies. I’ve seen what he is like. By running for presidency, he is trying to enslave the citizens of this country,” Zamin said.

“Thirty fired, thirty to go”: firing spree worries staff

Mohamed Ali, a cashier who was fired on September 27, says he received a call from HR informing him of his dismissal and ordering him to leave the resort premises on the first available transfer.

“They said it was a staff cut-down as an official reason. I asked them why then they couldn’t follow procedure, and give me due notice, to which the reply was that they ‘Didn’t know, it’s orders from the management’.”

“Another colleague was also fired at the same time, and obviously the whole team from our department got frustrated. We went together to the HR to ask questions, and this resulted in the immediate dismissal of the five others who accompanied us there to raise concerns,” Ali said.

“Although they said we’d be given air transfer as is the norm, at the last minute they tried to pile us into a small supply boat, which would take seven hours to reach Male’. We refused, and ended up having to pay our own airfares.

“We were so afraid of losing our jobs that we had to just agree with whatever political opinions the management voiced. They forced us to do political things to the point where even someone who might have initially supported Gasim would change his mind.”

“The GM himself said the 60 staff members who voted for MDP will be thrown out. They just dismiss whomever they suspect. One guy who worked on the resort’s fishing vessel was among the first dismissed as he is from Kulhudhuhfushi which had lots of support for MDP. Even the official reason they gave was ridiculous: that the guy had refused to cut his hair on time,” Ali alleged.

“The resort has previously taken action against staff who refused to re-register to vote in the resort, and those who refused to vote for Gasim.”

Ahmed Ikram, another dismissed staff member, claimed that workers were forced to sign up for JP, to register to vote in the resort, and that people who complained had action taken against them.

“I wouldn’t call it a tourist resort anymore. It’s nothing but a campaign hub,” Ikram said.

Ahmed Naushad, among the cashiers fired, claimed that between dismissal and transfer out of the resort, the management sent security guards, claiming they were to “watch over the dismissed staff as [they] might damage resort property. Naushad said it was similar to “adding salt to a wound” after they had loyally served the resort for long periods of time.

Naushad further said that they were asked by their employers to attend all JP rallies, adding that some staff had even been given some form of payment in return for attending the large rally held in capital city Male’ on August 16.

Fired for going to the jetty to see off his fired friends, Ahmed Sammahu expressed concerns about how there was no line between what was expected from a person’s job and what the management wanted them to do in the owner’s political interests.

“I’ll be frank. Politically, I support MDP. However, when at Sun Island, they forced me and others to display support to Gasim. We even have to participate in all his campaign activities, or else risk termination. I’ve done all that. And yet, they can’t digest the vote I cast.”

Political threat to the company

Ahmed Sirhan stated that he had handed in his resignation after many of his colleagues working in the same department had been terminated “unfairly and under discrimination based on political views”.

“I resigned as a termination was inevitable, and I wasn’t going to stay around and let them do as they pleased. Do you know the management’s tactics when votes near? We had awesome meals in the staff quarters for exactly three days ahead of elections. There were foods like biryani, sausages and corn flakes – things we’ve never been given in the staff kitchen before.”

“We were even treated to free coffee from the staff coffee shop during these three days. And right after voting day, the food quality went way below even what we were used to before,” said Sirhan, whose allegations were repeated by many of his colleagues.

“I’d liken the management’s actions to having patted us on the back as the vote approached, and then trying to strangle us once the votes had been cast,” Mohamed Ali said.

Another staff member who had submitted his resignation was asked to stop coming to work before the period of notice he had given was up. He was informed that unless he left immediately it would be recorded as a dismissal and not a voluntary resignation.

“When asked for a reason, the management said that there is a difference in political ideologies and that I may prove to be a threat to the company. While my monthly salary of MVR 4000 (US$259) was due, they deducted MVR 3000 (US$195) and claimed it was because I had chosen to resign instead of waiting for dismissal,” he claimed.

Trepidation in the resort

A staff member still employed at the resort – who spoke to Minivan News on condition of anonymity – shared the general feeling amongst other MDP supporting staff members remaining in the resort.

“It’s not easy to find jobs in this sector. Everyone’s scared, not sure which one of us will get fired first. There’s about 30 still left and the GM has said to various colleagues that he will fire all 60 who voted for MDP.”

“No one complains about anything, regardless of how unfair it is. For example, we aren’t even allowed to watch Raajje TV in this resort. And all these dismissals are against the Employment Act, not to mention the individual civic rights guaranteed in the constitution,” he said.

Article 4 of the Employment Act prohibits discrimination against any employee based on their political beliefs or affiliation with any political party.

Article 21(b) of the same Act states that political affiliation is not a reasonable cause for dismissal of an employee.

“No knowledge of such incidents”: HR

Minivan News was unable to get in touch with Sun Island Resort and Spa General Manager Mohamed Saeed.

The front office stated that they are not allowed to share the GM’s number or his assistant’s number, or even pass the call to his extension.

When asked if there was any other staff at the resort who could respond to media queries, the Front Desk Officer replied “I suppose it is only the GM who can respond to those queries, but we aren’t allowed to share his number or pass any calls to him”.

A Human Resources official from the resort – who declined to identify himself – refused to comment on the matter besides saying that he was unaware of politically motivated dismissals, saying he has “no knowledge of such incidents”.

JP leader and Sun Island owner Gasim Ibrahim was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Off their rockers: The Economist

“Just why were the people of the Maldives asked to vote in a presidential election on September 7th,” asks The Economist.

Campaigning and voting went perfectly well. The contest looked fair and free. Your correspondent, visiting both a remote atoll as well as the capital, Male, saw and heard of nothing untoward during the campaign.

The independent Electoral Commission and local election observers concluded it had gone off perfectly. The thick flow of foreign ones agreed. (It is presumably easier for the Commonwealth, the European Commission and others to recruit poll monitors for the Maldives than for Afghanistan or elsewhere). The outcome, too, broadly matched earlier expectations. Mohamed Nasheed, a former president ousted in 2012 by what he said, reasonably, was a coup, romped home with 45% of the vote.

Just short of winning outright, however, he was forced into a second round of voting scheduled for late September. Yet a handful of power-brokers evidently could not stand the prospect of Mr Nasheed actually coming to office if he had won the second round. First the courts compelled the army and police to stop the second round of voting. Then, whatever 45% of the population have already said, the Supreme Court found an excuse on October 7th to annul the first round of the election.

This looks ridiculous. No basis of wrongdoing in the first round has been established. The court claims to have a “secret” police report that shows serious wrongdoing, a report which has not even been shown to the Electoral Commission, let alone been made public. On October 8th Mr Nasheed said “there were no good reasons for nullifying the elections”. He complains that his party’s lawyers were barred from court, and warns that protests and further disturbances are bound to follow. “A few judges feel they have to nullify a very well-observed election that was certified by the international community. Has this ever happened before?”

Read more

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President Waheed complains to Canada over Foreign Minister’s “inappropriate remarks”, “harshly worded questions”

President Mohamed Waheed has written a letter of complaint to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, accusing Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird of making “inappropriate and derogatory remarks” towards Acting Foreign Minister Mariyam Shakeela during the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s meeting on September 27.

The Commonwealth’s human rights and democracy arm had “expressed concern at developments” in the Maldives following the Supreme Court’s delay of the run-off elections, noting the Commonwealth election observation team’s assessment that “this was a credible electoral process and met the standards for democratic elections to which Maldives has committed itself.”

The Supreme Court meanwhile last night annulled the election in a 4:3 decision, citing a secret police report on alleged electoral irregularities and ordering fresh elections on October 20 with enhanced police and government involvement.

In his letter to Prime Minister Harper, Waheed complained that Baird “posed several harshly worded questions… concerning domestic politics in the Maldives”, and said these “put unnecessary pressure on an otherwise excellent relationship” between the Maldives and Canada.

Shakeela represented the Maldives at the CMAG meeting, “and advocated on the need for reforming the Group in order to make the body a more effective and credible one that can help, not hamper, democracy consolidation in the Commonwealth member countries,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

“The Minister also highlighted on the need for the CMAG to take matters in proper context, and not to over-react on delicate situations in member countries,” it said.

The diplomatic spat has been widely reported by a bemused Canadian media.

Baird’s office responded to Waheed’s complaint by pointing out “the irony of the Acting Foreign Minister of the Maldives representing that country at CMAG, when her President received five percent of the vote in the first round of the election. Perhaps that is where President Waheed took offence.”

“It might have also been when Minister Baird pointed out to CMAG members that the second round of elections were ‘suspended’ under mysterious circumstances and called on Maldivian officials to proceed with the second round of elections without delay,” said Baird’s Spokesperson Rick Roth, in a statement.

“We believe that this delay is troublesome and can only lead to more instability; which is exactly what we have seen in recent days. The Minister believes that countries within the Commonwealth should adhere to a certain standard of values and principles which is clearly lacking in the Maldives,” the statement read.

“Canada supports the people of the Maldives, and that judicial authorities and security forces must not unduly delay the expression of their democratic will,” it concluded.

Baird has pushed for the Maldives to be placed on CMAG’s formal agenda. Following the group’s meeting in New York, Baird joined Maldivian pro-democracy demonstrators for a photo outside the Australian consulate.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird with Maldivian demonstrators
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Comment: Eight reasons why MACL’s share sale either doesn’t make sense, or is a giant scam

Mohamed Waheed’s government has been eyeing Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) just like a hawk circles around its prey before going for the kill.

Ever since MACL took over the airport from GMR, Waheed has been coming up with one scheme after the other to somehow move assets and ownership of INIA. Whenever such changes in ownership of valuable assets occur, a number of people invariably end up making a lot of money during the process.

First, he changed the MACL board and filled it with his political cronies in order to gain total control over the goings-on at INIA. Then, he tried to move all the assets of MACL into another company created through a secret Presidential decree so that it became a shell company, with all the value pulled into the new company.

This failed due to a number of legal issues. But now Waheed has now decided to sell shares in MACL to ‘Maldivian individuals and companies’ directly.

I will count eight reasons why I believe this proposed sale of MACL shares to ‘Maldivian companies and Maldivian individuals’ makes no sense and may potentially be a big scam-in-the-making.

1. Maintaining economic sovereignty or undermining it?

One reason Waheed’s spokesperson gave for this action was to “prevent foreigners from owning the airport in the future and protect the sovereignty of the airport”.

Essentially, rather than keeping control of MACL’s shares with it and hence ensuring the stated objective, it wants to sell these shares to third parties who can then go ahead and sell their holdings to foreigners. You can see the irony in the very argument that Waheed government is making for selling shares in MACL and wants us to lap up. Clearly, they believe that an average Maldivian on the street is silly and will happily agree to anything thrown his way as long as its wrapped with terms like ‘foreigner’, ‘sovereignty’ or ‘enslavement’.

On the contrary, by selling shares to Maldivian individuals and companies Waheed’s government is in fact opening doors for foreigners to actually go ahead and own INIA in the future.

Currently, the secondary financial markets in the Maldives are practically non-existent and it is easy for shares to change hands in off-market transactions. The regulatory framework for share sale & purchase is rudimentary and fails to ensure that equity shares of a company are not effectively transferred to a foreign entity. In fact, Waheed hailed the sale of two sea plane operators to American investment firm Blackstone as a shining example of how he has been able to bring investments into the Maldives. However, these transactions were an equity share sale of two businesses that are at the centre of Maldivian tourism, to foreign companies.

As a result of this share sale, significant control over Maldivian air space as well as businesses that are central to the health of Maldives tourism was given to an American investor. We have already heard of the problems most resorts are facing with the two sea plane operators and how they are being arm-twisted into signing long term agreements on unfavourable terms.

What will stop a foreign investor like Blackstone buying equity shares in MACL from a bunch of individual or large investors, and ultimately becoming the owner of INIA? In reality, it is this proposed sale of shares in MACL that is the start of potential ‘economic enslavement’ rather than a measure to stop the same in the future!

2. An economic necessity?

One argument that could have possibly been put forward by more aware and informed politicians would have been that this share sale is intended to plug the huge gap in the country’s financial position.

All of us know very well about the grave financial situation that the country and the government is in right now. After exhausting all of the recurrent expenditure budget for the year in the first four months, Waheed’s government has been relying on rolling over T-bills to finance its day-to-day expenses. However, it has already ruled out a supplementary budget for finance these expenditures and stated that it would continue to roll-over these T-bills in the short term. In this context, such a significant decision on divestment of state asset to private individuals is clearly neither a part of the government’s strategy to finance its projects and daily expenditures, nor an economic necessity in the current context.

3. All in the course of seven days

When Nasheed’s government privatised the airport, it put up the airport through an international bidding process managed by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). Work on the privatisation started in July 2009 and finished through announcement of the winning bidder in June 2010. Hence, it took 11 months for the previous government to complete a financial transaction related to the airport.

There were many allegations of corruption around the way the process was managed, which were later ridiculed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Now, we have a situation where those who alleged financial irregularities in an 11-month long international bid process are looking to sell shares in the same company over the course of one week!

Even if one were to not compare this plan of share sale to local companies and individuals with the previous bidding process, a share sale like this typically takes more than a year for most companies to complete. Planning and execution of a public offering in most cases is a 6 to 12 month process at the minimum in most countries with well-developed regulations and mature financial markets.

However, here we have a case where an outgoing government wants to complete a public sale of shares of the most valuable national asset in a week. Quite clearly, there is much more to this share sale than meets the eye, which is why it may be important to finish the whole process in the blink of an eye.

4. Eerie silence on the valuation of shares or lack of it

Waheed’s government has given no indication at all of the proposed valuation of MACL and the price at which it is planning to sell the shares. Fair valuation of a share is a matter of opinion and a matter of sound professional judgement of bankers who typically assist with share sales. There are no investment banks in the Maldives who could assist with the sale of shares and no research houses which could come out with an investment report for the public to determine whether the determined price of MACL shares is fair value or not. If a share sale has to be conducted, such experts would typically have to be brought in from other countries such as India, Singapore and Malaysia which have developed financial markets.

GMR made a claim of US$1.4 billion for the loss of profits that it would have earned in the next 10 years, which it couldn’t due to the alleged illegal termination of its contract by Waheed government. Equity shares in MACL would entitle one to profits from INIA for the course of eternity. Hence, what we are looking at is a multi-billion dollar financial transaction – 40 percent of this is also going to represent hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.

In this context, the fact that no one in the government has made any statement about engaging an international bank or an expert to help determine the fair value of MACL shares is a clear giveaway. There has been no attempt to find out what would be the fair value of MACL shares, and the intention is to sell these to Maldivian companies and individuals in the matter of a week. One can only deduce from all this that the price (likely to be peanuts) and the buyers of MACL shares have already been decided, and what is proposed to be undertaken over the course of next is a likely to be big sham.

5. Waheed’s moral and constitutional authority to make this decision

Waheed’s term is coming to an end on  November 11 and as this column goes to press, efforts are still ongoing to ensure that a new President is put in power by then. Clearly, this is a significant economic policy decision which must be taken by the new President in line with his announced economic policy, based on which he would have been voted into power. Waheed was never voted into power and his manifesto was given a big thumbs-down in the first round election where he received only 5.13 percent of the votes. Clearly, he doesn’t have the moral authority to make such a significant economic policy decision one month before he is scheduled to hand over power to his successor.

As far as constitutional authority is concerned, your guess is as good as mine. With much larger constitutional questions open for debate today, I wouldn’t dare comment on this but I would certainly be surprised if it allows an outgoing President to make such significant economic decisions that have long term economic impact on the state of the nation.

6. A thick cloud of secrecy

What is most important is to understand whether he plans to bypass the Majlis for undertaking this transaction. It was Waheed and his current and former allies who raised their voices against how the GMR concession was awarded without Majlis approval. In fact, this is the legal reason that Azima Shakoor cited as the basis for declaring the GMR contract void ab-initio.

Now that the Waheed government wants to go ahead with share sale in MACL, has he sought or planned to seek Majlis approval for this? He doesn’t have majority in the Majlis now since DRP and MDP have joined hands and this proposal is likely to be shot down given the lack of any ground work as well as his own unpopularity with majority of the Majlis.

Leaving aside Majlis approval, it is not even clear if the majority of the MACL board has passed a resolution authorising any such sale or shares. There are only two statements made by members of the government till now in this regard – by Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad confirming that “40 percent of the shares will be sold to Maldivian public and Maldivian companies as soon as possible” and by the President’s Office confirming the intent of this sale in the next seven days.

MACL CEO Bandhu Saleem has deflected all questions to the Minister of Finance, who has in turn deflected all the detail related questions to the Attorney General. The Attorney General has not spoken on this in public till date, let alone answered any questions in this regard.

7. An ill-timed transaction that suits vested interests

The Maldives is burning today – literally so with Monday morning’s arson attack on the pro-opposition media house Raajje TV. Protests are taking place every day and every night on the streets of Male’ calling for elections as scheduled and for restoration of the basic constitutional right to vote. Credibility of the Supreme Court and other state institutions is under the scanner and the country is almost in a state of constitutional void.

Whichever way one looks, the political environment couldn’t have been more ill-suited for carrying out one of the most significant multi-million dollar economic transaction, of a public asset, in the history of the Maldives.

However, this is also the reason why it is the most suited for a malafide transaction since the national agenda is dominated by fears for the future of democracy. This provides the perfect opportunity for undertaking the most outrageous looting of a national asset and sweeping it under the carpet. Public memory is too short to remember this for long and too preoccupied right now to notice anything else.

8. More of the same game that has been played a few times over the last one and a half years

During Waheed’s tenure over the last 1.5 years, his Transport Minister signed a 99-year lease extension for Mamigili Airport in favour of his political boss Gasim Ibrahim. On the face of it, the minister was fired but the decision was never reversed. The loss that this ad-hoc extension may have caused to the exchequer was never quantified and never spoken about in public.

Under Waheed’s tenure, KASA Holdings owned by ‘Champa’ Afeef bought 30 percent of Addu International Airport for ~US$4 million, thereby valuing Gan Airport at close to US$13 million. This was a private transaction of a public asset and was done under utmost secrecy with news of the sale  given only afterwards in a press briefing by STO’s Managing Director Shahid Ali. There was no justification, no clarification and no questions asked or answered with respect to this private sale of a public asset. It is not even known till date whether the company was even valued higher than the scrap value of its assets.

A very rushed-up transaction, no discussion or record of economic merit, bypassing the Majlis and an eerie silence about the transaction until it is completed have all been fundamental to the modus-operandi till date.

Clearly, this sale of shares in MACL is more of the same game that has been played again and again under Waheed government.

Summing up, this is about to be the biggest looting ever done in the Maldives and it is happening right now in front our very own eyes, orchestrated by a man  none of us ever elected and 95 percent have rejected less than a month ago.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Transparency International “gravely concerned” about safety of Maldives staff, volunteers

Transparency International has expressed “grave concern” about staff and volunteer safety and “alarm” over the intimidation and public allegations threatening its Transparency Maldives chapter.

“Transparency International is gravely concerned about the safety of chapter staff and volunteers following an attack on one of its volunteers and telephone threats received by chapter members,” the international anti-corruption NGO highlighted in a press statement issued today (October 7).

“There appears to be a negative campaign in the local media aimed at undermining the effectiveness of Transparency Maldives’ anti-corruption work. Last week a senior member of the cabinet publicly threatened to close Transparency Maldives down,” Transparency International noted.

“Transparency Maldives has always played an active and constructive role in advocating for government transparency and accountability. We call on the authorities to ensure the safety of its staff and volunteers,” stated Transparency International.

Transparency Maldives is part of the Transparency International anti-corruption movement that includes more than 100 chapters worldwide.

Death threats and street attack

“An elections program intern was attacked on the street and had her phone snatched away,” Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News today.

Death threats were issued to Transparency Maldives staff by an unknown caller who contacted the organisation’s office, explained Rasheed. Both incidents occurred within five day period, during the last week of September.

“During every election these things occur, it’s not abnormal. However, the situation in the country has worsened since the 2008 [presidential] election,” said Rasheed.

“At that time, murder was unheard of and stabbings were rare. Now the threats seem more real in the current environment [with tensions escalating],” he added.

Today a death threat tweet stating “We will slaughter all of you goats until there are none left” was directed at Transparency Maldives and the Maldives’ former UK High Commissioner Farah Didi.

In regard to the “negative media campaign” aimed at undermining Transparency Maldives’ anti-corruption work, Rasheed noted that the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) “will be aware of this” given their participation in the Elections Commission’s National Advisory Committee.

It is unclear whether MMC or MBC have taken actions to address these local media issues, but given the “general environment… a lot needs to be done in this situation” by regulatory authorities, he continued.

“Keeping [Transparency Maldives] staff and volunteers safe is our number one priority,” Rasheed declared.

In light of the recent death threats and attack of an intern, Transparency Maldives is urging staff and volunteers to be more careful, he explained.

“We are monitoring the environment and updating all our people,” said Rasheed.

Staff training has been conducted as part of Transparency Maldives’ security priorities, and the organisation’s electronic equipment and office are closely guarded, he explained.

“All [election] observers and volunteers are trained to remove themselves from any situation if any violence occurs,” he noted. “Their purpose is to observe whether violence has occurred, not to determine who hit whom.”

Transparency conducted an extensive election monitoring program, fielding a team of 400 election monitors during the first round of September 7. The organisation stated that the process was fair and credible and that incidents observed on the day would not have had a material impact on the outcome of the election.

Transparency Maldives called on all parties to act with restraint and uphold the constitution to allow for a run-off election to take place.

The Supreme Court on September 23, however, issued an indefinite injunction halting the second round of the presidential election, which had been scheduled for September 28.

Following the Supreme Court injunction, Transparency Maldives noted that the failure of parliament and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to address alleged integrity issues of the Supreme Court judges have “created avenues for political and other actors to question the conduct, injunctions and verdicts of the Supreme Court”.

The following week, State Minister for Home Affairs and the Registrar of NGOs Abdulla Mohamed declared that Transparency Maldives and the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM) were under investigation for “unlawful acts” and warned the NGOs that organisations acting outside of law would be dissolved.

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Military deploys soldiers to protect Maldives media after arson attack

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has taken to the decision to provide security services to various media outlets across the country following the arson attack on opposition-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV.

MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem told Minivan News that military officers were now manning “almost all” the country’s television stations as well as the premises of other media outlets.

Colonel Raheem said that, rather than being a reaction to a specific threat, the MNDF had decided to assign officers to guard a number of media stations immediately following the arson attack that destroyed Raajje TV’s offices in Male’ this morning.

“This was our own decision, although some [media] have requested they be provided protection,” he said, adding that officers had also been deployed to Raajje TV, which relaunched its broadcasting this afternoon.

He added that MNDF officers were acting as part of ongoing efforts to provide security for any areas deemed “vulnerable”, having previously provided similar support in the past for the Maldives’ electricity and water infrastructure.

The Maldives Police Service today said it was not involved with the MNDF’s security operation, with its own officers instead performing patrols outside the perimeters of media organisations.

Raajje TV was attacked by a group of masked individuals who doused the station’s computers, desks and main lobby with petrol. The office’s guard was later stabbed and hospitalised with critical injuries.

The attack took place despite the station having previously requested police protection following warnings of an impending attack.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed this morning that police had received the letter requesting security, and said they “took action by patrolling the area.”

Media violence

The attack is the second raid on the station’s building by masked assailants.  During the first attack – in August 2012 – assailants sabotaged equipment in the station and cut critical cables.

The main office of Villa TV (VTV), a private broadcaster owned by Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader – and third-placed presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim – was attacked during anti-government protests on March 19, 2012.

Extensive damage was reportedly caused to VTV and its property, with the station briefly being brought off air – an act claimed by the station’s owner to be tantamount to “terrorism”.

The Maldives Media Council meanwhile today released a statement condemning the Raajje TV attack as an attempt to “eliminate” one of the country’s most watched broadcasters, calling for security forces to do more to protect media outlets and journalists.

“In view of that, MMC has continuously requested to investigate these cases and asked security providers to be more attentive to media security issues. MMC is consciously discussing all relevant stakeholders to ensure protection of journalists and media stations.”

The MMC last week declared its intention to file a no-confidence motion in the Majlis against Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) members via Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee.

The council stated its belief that the broadcasting commission had failed to create a healthy broadcast media environment, instead creating fear and discomfort, and that it was therefore unable to fulfill the Broadcasting Act’s mandates.

Media freedom

MMC member and Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir meanwhile today maintained that media should not cover live events and other developments in the country in a manner that would incite violence.

Zahir confirmed the MCC also published a statement yesterday (October 6) criticising any media found to be trying to incite institutions or individuals to perform violent acts.

The statement specifically condemned any media found to be spreading calls for “terrorism and unrest”, something it said was not permitted even in nations regarded as leading in international standards of press freedom.

Zahir said that the MCC were aware of a number of examples where numerous unspecified media outlets had been covering news in a way that could create unrest.

“Sometimes the language used by [these media outlets] goes beyond what is acceptable within democratic values,” he said.

Zahir cited one notable example of media inciting unrest was by covering the statements of certain politicians who encouraged people to “violate the law” and go against state institutions.

He added that all media had a responsibility to the nation to decide whether or not to cover statements that might lead to violence or unrest.

Asked if the MMC’s statements could infringe on constitutionally-guaranteed press freedom, Zahir argued that the media oversight body was responsible under law to ensure such media freedoms were used in the “right manner”.

“The point is media needs to work for a better society. Media freedom has to be for the betterment of society,” he clarified today.

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MP Abdulla Jabir files complaint against Prosecutor General for not taking action against police

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir filed a complaint in parliament against the Prosecutor General (PG) for not taking action against the Maldives Police Service  after he was assaulted by arresting officers last year.

Jabir requested on Wednesday (October 2) that parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee investigate the matter and take action against the PG as necessary.

Jabir and fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor are among several senior party figures charged with drug and alcohol offences, after being arrested on on Hondaidhoo Island in November 2012 whilst allegedly under the influence of illegal substances.

Jabir was presented to the Criminal Court by police September 12, after being kept in custody for two days ahead of his trial for alleged possession of alcohol and cannabis.

Earlier this year the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) said that no charges could be pressed against police in relation to the alleged attack against Jabir.

Despite a complaint filed by Jabir’s brother, Ibrahim Shiham, which claimed that there is sufficient evidence proving that police beat Jabir during the arrest, the PIC decided that the case could not be sent to the PG office for criminal prosecution, local media reported.

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