Tag: minivan news

Dead dolphin found with puncture wound to head

A dolphin with a puncture wound to the head was found dead and stranded on Hoadedhdhoo Island in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll yesterday morning (July 17).

In the early morning hours of Tuesday a Hoadedhdhoo resident discovered the dead dolphin on the west side of the island – which faces away from the interior of the atoll towards the open sea.

The dolphin showed no signs of life, but had sustained a visible puncture wound which was bleeding onto the hard, flat coral that surrounds the island like a buffer.

“I think fishing boat people injured it because its head was bleeding. The dolphin looked like its head had a puncture from a fishing hook,” a Hoadedhdhoo government official told Minivan News today (July 17) on condition of anonymity.

This incident could be a potential issue for the Maldives’ fishing industry, which is known for its environmentally sustainable pole and line method, where no nets are allowed, preventing bycatch which makes it ‘dolphin safe’.

The source said he believed the dolphin must have died recently because there was no foul odor coming from the body at the time it was discovered.

A white object in the dolphin’s mouth was a piece of coral probably put there by small children that had been playing near the body, the source explained.

The source noted that “not a lot” of fishing boats are seen off the coast of Hoadedhdhoo. However, large pods of dolphins have been observed in the channel slightly north of Hoadedhdhoo.

About five or six years ago a small dolphin was found dead on the same side of the island, however it did not appear to have sustained any injuries, another Hoadedhdhoo resident told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

Dolphins essential for Maldives’ ecosystem

Following the reported incident, Minivan News contacted the Maldives Marine Research Centre (MRC) to determine the species and age of the dead dolphin.

“From the characteristics of its body shape and erect dorsal fin, it appears to be a common spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris). They can be easily identified by a long slender beak with a black tip and black lips, while their bodies are mainly grey with three toned coloration,” MRC Assistant Research Officer Mariam Shidha told Minivan News today.

While it was difficult to determine the exact size of the deceased dolphin based on the photographs, it is “most likely to be an adult”, since adults range between 1.8 – 2.1 meters in size, while they mature at the size of 1.5 – 1.7 meters, explained Shidha.

“Dolphins are important to our ecosystem because they are apex (top level) predators which control the populations of fishes and squids to keep it all balanced,” Shidha emphasised.

She explained that stranding of cetacean species – a such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises – “do not happen that often” in Maldivian waters; at most two to three per year are reported.

“[Moreover,] in the Maldives its a very rare thing for a dolphin to be injured by a fishermen since they are not a bycatch of pole and line fisheries,” she said. “However, in the Pacific Ocean, fishermen sometimes purposefully catch dolphins as they use other [unsustainable] fishing methods in order to get to the yellowfin tunas that swim underneath dolphins.”

“The MRC has had no reports of such deliberate acts of abuse or harm to dolphins [in the Maldives],” said Shidha. However, any incidents of people harming dolphins or strandings should be reported to the MRC.

All dolphins and whales are protected under the Maldivian Law and almost all the species of dolphins found in Maldivian waters are listed in the IUCN’s red list of threatened species, noted Shidha.

The MRC is working to raise awareness about why dolphins are essential for the environment in the Maldives.

“We are educating the public on the importance of protecting these charismatic fauna which are so important for the functioning of the ecosystem,” emphasised Shidha. “Also we have held a Cetacean Symposium and outreach programs for school children.”

Fisheries Ministry

“When we find a [stranded] dolphin it’s important to know how it happened. However, I don’t know how we can investigate [in this case],” Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Ahmed Shafeeu told Minivan News today.

“The type of pole and line fishing we have [in the Maldives] is done in a way that doesn’t harm dolphins,” said Shafeeu. “We have not had reports of dolphins being caught, it’s very unlikely.”

“Although an accident or something can happen, in that case the dolphin should be released immediately,” he emphasised. “Catching dolphins in any way [intentional or unintentional] is not allowed by law.”

“Sometimes dolphins are found washed up on the shore [of an island]. In those cases the incident should be reported to the local island council,” explained Shafeeu. “[But] there is no specific regulation that requires island councils to report to national offices if an animal is found.”

“However, if there are concerns of malpractice or someone is known to be deliberately hurting an animal, then it should be reported [to the relevant authorities beyond the island level],” he added.

‘Dolphin safe’

Environmentally-friendly, sustainable pole and line fishing allows Maldives’ tuna to be certified as ‘dolphin safe’, enabling it to be sold as a “premium” product for the European and US markets.

The ‘dolphin safe’ certification is provided by the Earth Island Institute (EII), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Earlier this year EII Associate Director Mark Berman explained to Minivan News that EII’s ‘dolphin safe’ policy requires that “no tuna company will deal in sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales, or their products. All efforts to minimise bycatch of these species is mandatory”.

A November 3, 2011 EII press statement read, “the Maldives tuna industry has adopted a policy to ensure that no dolphins are ever killed in tuna nets.”

“That Dolphin Safe standard is respected all over the world”, Dolphin Safe program Associate Director Mark Berman told Minivan News at the time. “Major tuna importing nations will not buy tuna from governments that harm dolphins.”

According to the EII website, the companies licensed with the dolphin-safe label must meet the following criteria:

  • No intentional chasing, netting or encirclement of dolphins during an entire tuna fishing trip;
  • No use of drift gill nets to catch tuna;
  • No accidental killing or serious injury to any dolphins during net sets;
  • No mixing of dolphin-safe and dolphin-deadly tuna in individual boat wells (for accidental kill of dolphins), or in processing or storage facilities;
  • Each trip in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) by vessels 400 gross tons and above must have an independent observer on board attesting to the compliance with points (1) through (4) above
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Maldivian suspect arrested over US$122,000 Male’ hotel theft

Police have arrested a Maldivian national in connection with the theft of over US$100,000 from a safe at the Relax Inn Hotel in Male’ yesterday (July 16) .

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that a case had been filed yesterday over the missing money, with investigations continuing into the matter.

Haneef said that officers were currently working on trying to reclaim the funds taken form the hotel, reported in local media to amount to US$122,000.

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Adhaalath Party enters coalition agreement with resort tycoon’s Jumhoree Party

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) has declared it has entered into a coalition agreement with resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP).

The AP recently severed its coalition agreement with President Mohamed Waheed, following his remarks to the AFP newswire that it was “better to work with” the self-claimed Islamist party, despite suggesting some elements in the party held “extreme views”.  He told media at the time that excluding the party from mainstream politics risked marginalising its members, having a “negative long-term effect”.

In a statement announcing its new coalition partner, the AP praised Gasim’s campaigning for the 2013 election and said it believed the presidential candidate was “the person most capable of defending the country from foreign influences, to safeguard the country’s highest of priorities, and that he is capable of working in an independent manner.”

Local news outlet Sun Online observed that the AP had similarly allied with the JP ahead of the 2008 presidential election, noting that the party’s then spokesperson and current Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, had qualified the alliance on the grounds that “a person capable of controlling four wives is more than capable of controlling the country.”

Following its departure from Waheed’s ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition last week, the Adhaalath Party was reported to have been in talks with the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

While the extent of the Adhaalath Party’s electoral support in the coming elections is uncertain (the party received 0.9 percent of the votes in the 2009 parliamentary election), its numbers make up the bulk of the ranks of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and it remains a loud voice in Maldivian politics.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muttalib, while not elected as an Adhaalath MP, has since declared association with the party. His bills have included motions calling for a blanket ban on the sale and import of pork and alcohol in the Maldives, a luxury tourism destination with an economy dependent on over 100 resorts targeting the lucrative UK, German, French and Russian markets.

Gasim Ibrahim meanwhile remains one of the country’s single largest importers of alcohol, with customs records for 2011 showing his Villa Hotels chain – including the Royal, Paradise, Sun, and Holiday Island resorts – importing approximately 121,234.51 litres of beer, 2048 litres of whiskey, 3684 litres of vodka and 219.96 kilograms of pork sausages annually, among other haram (prohibited) commodities restricted to ‘uninhabited’ islands.

The Adhaalath Party also endorsed a flogging sentence given in February to a 15 year-old rape victim found guilty of a separate fornication offence, on the grounds that “if such sinful activities are to become this common, the society will break down and we may become deserving of divine wrath.”

After an Avaaz petition calling for the repeal of the sentence reached more than two million signatures – double the country’s annual tourism arrivals – Waheed’s administration pledged to appeal the matter. The case remains stalled in the High Court.

Gasim in March 2013 complained he had lost US$16 million as a result of a selective tourism boycott, orchestrated he claimed by his political rivals the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

While in coalition with Waheed, the Adhaalath Party also notably clamped down on singing and dancing, including requesting in April 2012 that the Education Ministry cancel the Maldives’ inter-school singing competition on the grounds that singing was haram in Islam.

Gasim was meanwhile heavily critical of the MDP’s recently-launched youth policy, titled ‘Entertainment without fear’, accusing former President Nasheed of being a “monster” guilty of “every despicable act ever to be found in the world”.

“He doesn’t understand what the law says, so a crazy person like him may say that he would give the opportunity for people to limitlessly entertain themselves. Look, it is not something Allah has given us human beings,” Gasim declared.

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Former President Gayoom to receive Maldives’ “highest honour”

The government has announced that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will receive the country’s “highest honour” – the Nishaan Ghaazeege Izzaiytheri Veriyaa (NGIV).

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad confirmed to Minivan News that the decision to bestow former President Gayoom with the NGIV was approved at a cabinet meeting held yesterday (July 16). He stressed however that the timing of the award was not related to recent political events such as criticism of President Waheed by the Gayoom-led Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

According to Masood, previous recipients of the NGIV have included former Maldives President Ibrahim Nasir and present British monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

Gayoom presently serves as leader of the PPM, which is part of the coalition government and the second largest party in the country in terms of MP numbers.

While aligned with the government, the PPM has on numerous occasions in recent months publicly criticised President Waheed and some of his decisions as head of state. The party has most notably accused the president of using state resources to gain an unfair campaign advantage ahead of this year’s presidential election, as well as not listening to the advice of his coalition partners on key foreign investment issues.

The PPM confirmed earlier this week that it was yet to make a formal decision on whether to discuss retracting support for the coalition government, despite receiving a number of complaints from members about the conduct of President Waheed.

Bureaucratic system

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood rejected any suggestion that the decision to award the NGIV honour to Gayoom was related to the party’s recent criticisms of the government.

He said figures chosen to receive the honour were nominated by members of the public and then processed through the country’s bureaucratic system, before being forwarded to the cabinet for approval.

Masood added that very few dignitaries had so far been presented with the award, though he suggested that former President Mohamed Nasheed, who controversially resigned from government in February 2012 on the back of a mutiny by sections of the police and military, may also be in contention for the honour at some point.

“I hope and pray Mr Nasheed will one day get [the NGIV] as well,” Masood said.

Minivan News was awaiting a response from former Home Minister and current PPM vice presidential candidate Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed at time of press.

Not a “major issue”: opposition MDP

Responding to news of the honour today, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said it did not see former President Gayoom receiving the NGIV as a “major issue” at the present time.  The MDP accuses Gayoom during his autocratic rule of numerous human rights abuses such as the imprisonment and torture of his opponents.

Speaking at a rally today, the MDP’s candidate for this year’s election, former President Nasheed, noted that the NGIV was traditionally given to figures in honour of efforts to protect the independence of the Maldives.

Although he questioned Gayoom’s role in protecting national independence, Nasheed said that as one the most prominent “elder statesmen” in Maldivian politics, the former president was an appropriate candidate for the honour.

Gayoom oversaw 30 years of autocratic rule in the Maldives, before losing to a coalition backing former President Nasheed in the second round of the country’s first ever multi-party democratic election in 2008.

The MDP has previously maintained that Gayoom has been a key figure behind the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012, which the party has claimed was a “coup d’etat.”

The allegations were rejected last year by a Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry.

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Tourism Ministry revokes permit of tour operator Atoll Paradise over fraud allegations

The Maldives Tourism Ministry has suspended the permit allowing local tour operator Atoll Paradise to take holiday bookings, following allegations the company – now under police investigation – has defrauded customers and international travel agents.

Tourism Ministry Senior Legal Officer Faseeh Zahir told Minivan News that the government had temporarily revoked Atoll Paradise’s licence to operate as a travel agent, and fined the company MVR 1 million (US$65,000).

“We have received several complaints from customers and foreign travel agents in recent months that bookings have been cancelled [by the company], but no refund has been given,” he said. “There are allegations of fraud and of the company not acting according to regulations. This is not just a case of one guest, we have received several complaints.”

Faseeh said that although the company’s permit to operate as a travel agent had been temporarily revoked, Atoll Paradise would still be required to honour all existing bookings.

“However, from today, Atoll Paradise is not allowed to take any new bookings from clients,” he said.

According to Faseeh, the Tourism Ministry has received several complaints of alleged fraud by Atoll Paradise over the last two months as authorities have sought to hold talks with the company.

He said the ministry had noted some “misconduct” by the company and decided based on complaints received to both fine and revoke Atoll Paradise’s permit until all alleged outstanding payments and grievances had been settled.

With the ministry not itself being an investigative authority, Faseeh added that police had also been informed of the Atoll Paradise case.

Police Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that an investigation was now expected to begin into the company’s operations following the allegations of fraud.

According to Faseeh, any decision to return Atoll Paradise’s permit would depend on the outcome of the police investigation, as well as whether the company could resolve the complaints against it from clients and travel agents.

Award success

Atoll Paradise is one of the Maldives’ largest locally-owned tour operators, with the company in May winning several accolades including the Maldives’ and Seychelles Leading Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Indian Ocean ceremony.

The company was also awarded the title of the World’s Leading Luxury Boutique Tour Operator at the 2012 WTA ceremony.

Atoll Paradise’s office in Male’ was not responding to calls at time of press. The company had also failed to respond to email enquiries at time of press.

Ministry focus

The Tourism Ministry said today that Atoll Paradise was not the first local tour operator to have its permit revoked by the government over allegations of misconduct.

Ministry Legal Officer Faseeh said that ministry had last year revoked the license of one local operator accused of acting outside the law.

He urged guests intending to book a Maldives holiday through a local operator to be aware of their rights and ensure they had been provided with a booking agreement specifying terms of cancellation. Resort bookings in the luxury honeymoon destination can reach many thousands of dollars.

Faseeh said local tour operators were required to communicate and agree terms for cancelled bookings, as well as communicating them to the client upon confirming a booking.

He added that guests wishing to seek clarification on a booking or travel agency could directly contact the ministry or industry body, such as the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), via e-mail.

Any complaints against a tour operator could meanwhile be registered through the Tourism Ministry’s website here.

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Nasheed announces former university chancellor Musthafa Luthfy as running mate

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has announced Dr Musthafa Luthfy as his running mate in the September 2013 elections.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor confirmed the announcement, made at a meeting of the party’s national executive committee this morning.

One of the conditions Dr Luthfy had agreed to, Ghafoor said, was that if Nasheed was elected President and later “killed or incapacitated”, Luthfy would declare an election.

“Nasheed discussed the choice with the national council, but it believed the choice should be left to Nasheed,” Ghafoor said. “The general opinion was that the person should be faithful, a party member, totally in support of the party’s manifesto, and not necessarily an expression of who the next president would be.”

He noted that Nasheed during a previous committee meeting had narrowed the choice to what he described as a “religious person, a military person, and a development person. In our context, these are very relevant [themes].”

Development person

Dr Luthfy served as Education Minister during Nasheed’s administration, initially appointed to the post under a coalition agreement with then-Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP), alongside Economic Development Minister Mohamed Rasheed.

One of the founding members of incumbent President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s GIP, Dr Luthfy joined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) following its acrimonious split with GIP in 2010.

The MDP severed the coalition agreement after GIP leader and then-Vice President Mohamed Waheed’s publicly criticised the government on an opposition-aligned media outlet.

Rasheed was ejected from the government following the split, while Luthfy remained in the post of Education Minister until the mass dismissal of Nasheed’s cabinet by parliament in late 2010. He was subsequently appointed as the first Chancellor of the Maldives National University, resigning from the post in protest against Dr Waheed’s controversial ascension to the presidency in February 2012.

Education reformist

As Education Minister, Dr Luthfy was among the first to flag the country’s low O-level pass rate as the source of many social challenges facing young people, such as high levels of unemployment and lack of both tertiary and vocational education opportunities.

“When students finish Grade 10, and when they do not have many other avenues to go to for education, they remain in society and have two years before they become adults at 18 years. So they have two years of not being able to get a job, and this is also a crucial period in their physical development,” Dr Luthfy told Minivan News, in an extensive 2010 interview.

“During this time they are not in a school and due to this I think there will be negative impact on their behaviour and also on society. We are trying to keep students in the system until they are 18. We can do that by diversifying our curriculum – some can do A-Level, some can go for other programmes such as foundation and certificate level courses, and through that proceed to higher education,” he said.

Luthfy and his successor, Shifa Mohamed, presided over “mega reform” of an education sector which had last been revised in 1984, overseeing an increase in the O-level pass rate from 27 percent in 2009 to 32 percent in 2010, and 37 percent in 2011. In 2012, the pass rate leapt to 46 percent.

Some proposed reform attracted controversy, and was quickly exploited for political leverage by the government’s opponents.

One of these was the proposal to make Islam and Dhivehi optional subjects at A-level, which became a wedge issue with the MDP’s remaining coalition partner, the religious conservative and nationalistic Adhaalath Party (AP).

A-Level students typically study between four to five subjects. Some university prerequisites demand as many as three or four subjects, particularly for university-level science courses. Luthfy had suggested that making the subjects optional would give A-level students greater ability to pursue careers of their choosing, and become “world citizens”.

Speaking to Minivan News in 2010, he justified the Education Ministry steering committee’s recommendation as opening many more doors for students to seek tertiary education, stating that it would “give students many different subject options, so they are not forced to take some subjects – rather they have the freedom to choose whatever they want.”

Religious groups and the Adhaalath Party seized the issue as an assault on national identity and evidence of the government’s supposed irreligiousness, a point of view disputed by Dr Luthfy.

“I think there is a certain group of people who actually think that it is their responsibility and their duty to safeguard Maldivian culture and Maldivian religion, and that others are not treating this fairly,” he told Minivan News at the time.

“But in fact we, as the educationalists, we are also taking care of our culture and religion and trying to train our students to become world citizens, rather than narrowing their perspective. That may be one of the reasons why they have suspicions that we are not trying to do justice to the religion or language [of the Maldives], and that is obviously untrue. Whether the subjects will be optional or not, we will revise them, and the curriculum, and we will train our teachers to teach these subjects in a better manner.”

Adhaalath-aligned MP Ibrahim Muttalib – who had previously sought the total elimination of alcohol from the tourism dependent economy – levelled a no-confidence motion against Luthfy over the issue in June 2010.

The day before the vote was due to be held Nasheed’s entire cabinet resigned in protest over what they termed the “scorched earth politics” of the opposition-majority parliament.

Nasheed subsequently re-appointed the ministers, however the constitutional requirement for newly appointed ministers to receive parliamentary approval ultimately led to the mass dismissal of all but five members of Nasheed’s cabinet later that same year. Luthfy was among the seven ministers dismissed, but was soon after appointed the first Chancellor of the newly-opened Maldives National University.

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President Waheed and running mate Thasmeen to contest elections as “independent pair”

President Dr Mohamed Waheed and his running mate Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali will be competing in the September’s presidential election as independent candidates.

Waheed announced today (July 16) his intention to officially register with the Elections Commission (EC) as an independent candidate, despite heading the Gaumee Ithihad Party (GIP) and leading the ‘Forward with the Nation’ coalition.

The coalition backing Waheed’s and Thasmeen’s bid for election in September currently includes the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), in addition to the GIP. However, several key members of DQP have since defected to the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), while DRP leader Thasmeen was recently taken to court by a series of creditors.

Waheed told local media during a press conference held in the President’s Office today that he would be contesting the election as an independent candidate, since “certain parties” have questioned GIP’s legitimacy and the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the dissolution of political parties with less than 10,000 members.

“If I decide to compete as a party candidate before the matter is decided [by the Supreme Court], it will be questioned. There are people trying to bar me from competing. I will not be the one to get caught in that trap,” said Waheed.

Candidates unaffiliated with a political party are required to submit signatures of at least 1,500 supporters with their official candidacy application, according to local media.

“So I intend to take the form and go on the streets. I will visit houses, carrying the form, during the next two days and ask those who wish to see me remain in this post for another term to sign,” Waheed explained.

Investigations are currently underway into 46 cases of fraudulent political party enlistment filed by the EC, as well as another case individually lodged, Police Chief Inspector Abdulla Shatheeh told local media. Some of the people signed up to the party were alleged to already by deceased at the time of their registration.

The fraudulent political party forms are said to include 15 people signed to President Waheed’s GIP, five from his DRP running mate Thasmeen, and 27 from prominent businessman and MP Ahmed Siyam’s Maldives Democratic Alliance (MDA).

The Maldives Police Service has recently said it is experiencing “difficulties” investigating the 47 cases of fraudulent enlistment, with “no way” to hold the respective political parties accountable.

“No other legal way”

“Now Waheed is working as a coalition president, however the Constitution doesn’t allow a coalition president to be nominated or contest as a presidential candidate,” ‘Forward with the Nation’ Coalition Spokesperson Abdul Rasheed Nafiz told Minivan News today.

“There are two options; President Waheed has to apply through a political party or as an independent candidate,” said Nafiz. “There is no other legal way to become a presidential candidate.”

“Now because he is in a coalition with other parties – which work as one under the brand name ‘Forward with the Nation’ – he doesn’t want to say he’s president of GIP only,” he continued.

“In that case, he would have to use the GIP logo on campaign materials, etc, so this was the only solution,” he added.

Nafiz noted that Waheed had mentioned his intention to run as an independent candidate “a long time ago” and that his coalition partnerships would not be negatively affected by the decision.

“The strongest part of the coalition is Dr Waheed, and the coalition partners remain with us and public support is also the same as before,” said Nafiz.

“There is no problem even though Adhaalath has left the coalition, as they [are still] part of the government. They have said that although their leader has decided to leave [the coalition] they will support President Waheed as a candidate,” he added.

Earlier this week the Adhaalath Party (AP) withdrew from ‘Forward with the Nation’, a day after the party slammed Waheed for telling the AFP newswire that the party had “extremist” individuals. The party left the coalition citing “mysterious events” as well as the coalition’s prospective inability to succeed in “saving the nation” from former President Mohamed Nasheed’s “sacrilegious actions”, AP President Sheikh Imran Abdullah told local media at the time.

Waheed will be conducting his social policy launch on Thulusdhoo Island in Kaafu Atoll tonight, noted Nafiz. He has also announced the coalition’s health, education, and youth policies.

“As the ruling coalition, they have shown they have the capacity to rule the country with opposition parties,” said Nafiz. “Waheed has proved that he has brought peace, order and done good work to improve the economy.”

Meanwhile, DRP Parliamentary Group Leader MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom told Minivan News that Waheed’s running mate will also be registering as an independent candidate.

“Of course Thasmeen is the leader of DRP, but in the presidential campaign he will be running as an independent,” said Mausoom.

“There is no slot to represent DRP because he is Waheed’s running mate. They are an independent pair,” he continued.

Mausoom noted that although Waheed made the announcement today, the decision was made previously and that there is “no change at all” between DRP’s relationship with the coalition.

“It not a surprise at all, this was discussed,” said Mausoom. “The coalition leaders have an agreement.”

“This is how the coalition wanted to go, it’s the way it is and it’s the right way forward,” he continued.

“It is a coalition of political parties and individual people,” he added.

“The DRP coalition with Dr Waheed will give people an alternative vote, an opportunity other than [former President Maumoon Gayoom’s] 30 years or [former President Mohamed Nasheed’s] three years,” he declared.

Eailer this week EC announced it will open the opportunity for presidential candidates to formally file their candidacy at the commission to contest in the presidential elections, from July 22 until July 24.

The Adhaalath Party President Sheik Imran was not responding to calls at time of press.

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PPM undecided over leaving government despite “concerns” with President Waheed

The government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has said no formal decision has yet been taken on whether to retract support for the government, despite growing “complaints” from its members over the conduct of President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

MP Ahmed Nihan today told Minivan News that both the PPM’s senior leadership and ordinary members held significant “concerns” over the conduct of President Waheed in the build up to this year’s presidential election, with the party accusing the incumbent and his supporters of unfair campaigning.

The PPM is the largest party in terms of MP numbers serving within the coalition government backing President Waheed, which came to power following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012.

Despite this ongoing support, PPM vice presidential candidate and former Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed yesterday (July 14) accused President Waheed in local media of providing harbours to islands on the provision that their councils signed with his Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party (GIP).

The allegations were today rubbished by the President’s Office, which claimed that projects such as harbour developments had been allocated by the government last year and were not related in any way to the GIP or its campaign.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad contended that President Waheed would had no say on the placing of harbours earmarked for development before electioneering had begun, adding that the GIP had the least influence within the current government to influence such projects.

While not having personally seen the allegations raised by Dr Jameel, Masood criticised what he claimed was a culture of politicians “saying anything they want” to try and damage political rivals. He added that politicians attempting to attack political rivals without facts or evidence were in danger of disgracing their own parties in the long-term.

“National interest”

Dr Jameel was quoted in local media criticising President Waheed for dismissing him as home minister earlier this year and sacking other PPM supporters from key government posts, which he said reflected a failure of the incumbent to favour “national interest”.

He additionally pointed to recent concerns raised by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegations the GIP had fraudulently registered party members in a bid to reach minimum membership.

The ACC said last month after interviewing 100 members of the GIP that 85 percent of those polled had no knowledge of ever joining the party.

Dr Jameel also compared Dr Waheed’s principles – in an unspecified manner – to those of his predecessor former President Mohamed Nasheed, who is himself standing in the election as candidate for the opposition Maldivan Democratic Party (MDP).

The MDP is the country’s largest political party both in terms of numbers of MPs and registered support.

However, Dr Jameel was quoted in local media as dismissing Nasheed’s chances in the upcoming election, claiming he had been “discarded by the people” and had become a “joke” with his attempts to strengthen democracy in the country.

“I don’t believe President Nasheed even has a chance. Also I don’t see a reason he should even be given that chance,” he was reported to have said by newspaper Haveeru.

Dr Jameel was not responding to calls at time of press.

Incentive allegations

PPM MP Nihan said that alongside allegations that the president had been promising harbours to local councils to garner electoral support, the party had also received complaints that senior positions in government companies were also being offered to secure ballots ahead of September’s vote.

“Besides the harbours, there are attempts to try and influence voters. Maybe this is not the work of the president, but there may be strong people belonging to the GIP behind this,” he said.

Nihan said no decision had yet been taken over whether to formally review the PPM’s support of the present coalition government “in the near future”.

However, with the presidential election scheduled just over a month away on September 7, he did not rule out possible the potential for talks on the matter.

“Unofficial” Adhaalath talks

The PPM has also confirmed this week that it had held informal talks over potentially standing in a coalition with the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) for the election after retracting its support for President Waheed. Nihan said there had been no further progress on reaching an agreement.

He claimed that a PPM Council meeting held yesterday evening had not included discussions on forming a coalition “with any party” on its agenda. Nihan said the PPM  was presently involved in “unofficial negotiations” with AP “senior leadership”.

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President Waheed obstructing decentralisation, failing to deliver pledged concessions: LGA

Local Government Authority (LGA) Vice President Sujau Hussain has claimed that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s government has failed to extend any of the concessions previously pledged and is obstructing decentralisation, reports local media.

Waheed promised atoll and city councils 50 percent of the leases from atoll stores as well as 50 percent of the leases given under ‘varuvaa’ (islands given to individuals for caretaking) to increase the income of councils.

“While Waheed claims he wants to implement decentralisation, the only thing he does is to further obstruct those activities which the councils are already in a position to carry out,” Hussain said during a conference held to mark two years of decentralisation.

Waheed noted in February that the government had used a “major amount of income from the public accounts”, so he would arrange for next year’s government budget to address the issue and recover the funds, according to local media.

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