The Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) interim council elected two deputy presidents through a secret ballot at the council’s first official meeting last night.
Former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer and former People’s Alliance MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla won with 21 votes and 9 votes respectively.
The other two candidates, MPs Ahmed Nihan and Hamdhoon Hameed, each received 7 votes.
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(0)Local fire and security technology firm Alarms Pty Ltd, owned by prominent opposition politician Umar Naseer, has refuted media reports that it won a contract to supply equipment for GMR’s development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
MNBC and Haveeru quoted an unamed GMR official as confirming that Alarms had been contracted to supply fire and security services to the airport. However a press statement from Umar Naseer’s company denounced the “false media reports”, stating that it was “regrettable that such a false report could be made public by two of the largest media outlets in the country.”
Umar Naseer was among the most vocal opponents of the decision to hand the upgrade and management of the international airport to the Indian infrastructure giant, variously accusing the government, GMR, DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid of corruption in the deal.
Speaking to Minivan News in June last year, Naseer described the decision to hand the management of the airport to GMR as “ridiculous”, alleging that it would not only result in the loss of thousands of jobs, but also take away the Maldives’ authority to decide which flights would be permitted to land at the airport.
”That means, if [the operators] allowed it, an Israel flight can come and stop over after bombing Arab countries,” Naseer claimed at the time.
Spokesperson for GMR Mohamed ‘Kudu’ Ibrahim told Minivan News that Alarms was the sole distributor for a particular system supplied to the existing airport 3-4 years ago when it was under the management of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
“It is not even a contract. Alarms is the sole distributor for the system and it is impossible to get the brand from anyone else [in the Maldives],” he explained. “If there is a problem or a breakdown GMR also brings in technicians from Alarms.”
On its website, Alarms explains that “the very essence of Alarms Pte Ltd comes from the various experiences of Mr Umar Naseer. During his 7-year career in the National Security Services (NSS) he led several investigations of resort fires. He also investigated the cause of many major fires that occurred in Male’ during that period. His experience led him to believe that a private fire and security industry would help the country in many ways.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has filed a case today requesting that the Civil Court outlaw use of the party’s logo, seal and resources by the breakaway Z-faction.
Local daily Haveeru reports that the party submitted evidence of unauthorised use of the party logo and seal by dismissed Deputy Leader Umar Naseer.
“We have sued Umar Naseer and his cohorts,” a party official told the newspaper.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former Deputy Leader Umar Naseer has issued a statement following a complaint from the Supreme Court that he was prejudicing a case under judgement by publicly claiming he was certain he would win.
In his press release, Umar said that his comments were “only made because I was hopeful of winning” a suit filed against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa.
Umar made his remarks about the suit against Musthafa last weekend during an oppistion rally led by main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)’s Z-faction, led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Speaking at the rally, Umar said that he was confident that the MDP would lose two seats in parliament very soon – one was to be MP Musthafa’s seat following the ruling, and the second was to be MP Hassan Adil’s seat. Adil is currently on trial in the Criminal Court for allegedly molesting a minor.
‘’One will be Musthafa. You will remember there is a suit filed against him in Supreme Court, a suit I filed. The suit has almost reached a verdict, and all statements have been signed. I’m sure Musthafa will lose his seat. The next one is [alleged] child molester Ahil [MDP MP Hassan Adil],’’ Umar said during the rally.
The day after Umar Naseer’s announcement, the Supreme Court said that ‘’predicting how the court may rule on a certain case obstructs the administration of justice, and added that the court had “authority to stop anything that might influence the judiciary.”
The court also warned that commenting on cases on sub judice was an offence under the Contempt of Court Act, the constitution and other relevant laws.
(0)Dislikes(0)The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), led by MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, have complained to police that the party’s former Deputy Leader was continuing to use the party’s logo and letterhead without authorisation of the DRP.
The DRP alleged that Naseer had sent a letter to the police concerning the recent protests, which was signed by Umar but with the letterhead of the DRP.
Yesterday the party told the press that Naseer had been violating the Political Parties Act and the decrees of the DRP council.
MP from former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction of the DRP, Ahmed Mahlouf, said it was “hard to believe that Umar Naseer would do something like that.”
“I do not think he actually did [send a letter],’’ Mahlouf said. “Thasmeen has just run out of things to do and wants to stay busy.’’
Whenever the opposition organised a protest, the police called and met with the organisers, said Mahlouf.
‘’We never send letters to police about protests, we always negotiate and discuss with them verbally,’’ he said.
Mahlouf said that if Naseer was to be banned from speaking at DRP rallies, Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leader Dr Hassan Saeed should also be prevented from speaking at DRP-led rallies.
‘’For instance, I am the leader of DRP Youth Wing. If Umar is a person working closely with us, and we are organising a rally, why can’t he speak on DRP podiums?’’ Mahlouf questioned.
Mahlouf further stated that he did not believe that Naseer had been formally dismissed from the party, because Thasmeen had not followed due process.
“There is a suit filed in the court [concerning Naseer’s dismissal], hopefully we will win,’’ Mahlouf said.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Supreme Court has called on former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer not to publicly predict court verdicts before judgments were reached.
The Supreme Court said Naseer had proclaimed to the media that the court would rule in his favor in a suit filed by Naseer himself against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa.
‘’Predicting the how the court might rule on a certain case obstructs the administration of justice,’’ said the Supreme Court, adding that the court had “authority to stop anything that might influence the judiciary.”
The court also warned that commenting on cases on sub judice was an offence under the Contempt of Court Act, the constitution and other relevant laws.
Such actions are considered as an offence under the ‘’Sub Judice rule’’ in other democratic countries as well, said the Supreme Court.
Last week speaking at a Z-DRP faction rally attended by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Naseer said the MDP “must be warned that they are about to lose two seats in parliament.”
‘’One will be Musthafa. You will remember there is a suit filed against him in Supreme Court, a suit I filed. The suit has almost reached a verdict, and all statements have been signed. I’m sure Musthafa will lose his seat. The next one is [alleged] child molester Adhil [MDP MP Hassan Adil],’’ Umar said during the rally.
Umar filed the suit against Mustafa in 2009, alleging that Mustafa had not been paying a decreed debt.
Article 73 [c][1] of the constitution states that ‘’a person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.’’
People’s Alliance (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim is also before the court on corruption charges. The PA is aligned the former President’s faction of the opposition.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) this afternoon protested outside the Prosecutor General’s Office, marched through the streets of Male’ demanding justice for the martyrs who died in the November 3 coup attempt in 1988.
The Z-DRP protesters set out from Artificial Beach carrying 19 wooden coffins wrapped in the Maldivian national flag, calling to arrest Former Defence Minister Ameen Faisal and other senior officials in the government whom they alleged were involved in the incident.
The protesters marched down Majeedhee Magu and stopped as they reached the Prosecutor General’s Office, setting down the coffins on the ground and calling for the arrest of those involved in the November 3.
They remained until the police arrived and told the protesters to leave the area, whereupon they walked back to the Artificial Beach.
On November 3, 1988, the Maldives was attacked by 80 armed mercenaries linked to the Sri Lankan terrorist group, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom requested Indian intervention and 1600 paratroopers were deployed to the Maldives.
19 people were killed in the fighting, including several hostages taken by the mercenaries.
Zaidhul Ameen, a Z-DRP official, told Minivan News that today’s protest was to “hand over a letter to the PG, requesting him to conduct a fair trial of those involved in the November 3 attack.”
‘’There are people in the government who were definitely involved in it,’’ he said. ‘’But in the letter we did not mention anyone’s name.’’
He said depending on the reaction of the PG, more protests would be held.
The current government has set up an office and is seeking information from the public in an ongoing investigation into allegations of torture by the former administration.
(0)Dislikes(0)The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has filed a case in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing the party of bribing opposition MPs to join the party.
A senior member of Gayoom’s faction of the opposition and former Deputy Leader of the DRP, Umar Naseer, sent a letter to the Anti-Corruption Commission stating that ‘’offering money to an MP to shift parties is nothing less than an act of corruption.’’
The letter alleges that former DRP Deputy Leader and MP Ali Waheed, who resigned from the MP today, was bribed with “millions of rufiya”.
Naseer called on the ACC to monitor the bank accounts of Ali Waheed, his friends and family to assure that there was no corruption involved in Waheed’s decision to join MDP.
Umar Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press while MP Ahmed Nihan and MP Ahmed Mahlouf were unavailable.
Meanwhile, tomorrow night MDP has said it will hold a special ceremony during which Ali Waheed publicly sign with the party.
Ali Waheed has not officially confirmed his decision to the media, however, senior MDP officials have confirmed that it will happen.
Aside from Ali Waheed, two other DRP MPs will sign with MDP tomorrow night during the special ceremony.
A Z-DRP faction senior official also told Minivan News that Ali Waheed and Hassan Shujau, a DRP council member, decided to join MDP after they were offered millions of rufiya “and other assets”.
Hassan Shujau has been now appointed as the State Transport Minister, days after he decided to join MDP.
MDP Secretary General Ahmed Shah and Spokesperson of MDP Ahmed Haleem did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Elections Commission (EC) has said that it still considers Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to be the leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) despite a technicality that dismissed Deputy Leader Umar Naseer claims disqualifies him from the position for failing to report the minutes of the party congress at which he was appointed.
Naseer made the claims yesterday in a text message sent to local media, alleging Thasmeen’s apparent failure to submit the minutes of the 2010 party congress to the EC within 15 days.
According to the message, this means that under party rules, Thasmeen should no longer officially be recognised by the commission as the party head.
An EC spokesperson claimed that although the party had failed to submit the minutes and recordings of last year’s DRP congress, during which it outlined its current leadership as required under its regulations, the commission did not have the mandate to disqualify Thasmeen from his appointment on such grounds.
“Thasmeen has failed to submit the minutes of 2010 DRP Congress to the Elections Commission within 15 days as stipulated by ‘Siyaasee Party ge Qavaaidh 2005,’” Umar claimed in a release sent by SMS. “It means that as far as the (EC) is concerned, Thasmeen is not the leader of the DRP.”
Umar Naseer, Thasmeen and fellow DRP MP Ahmed Maussom were either unavailable or unwilling to comment on the issue when contacted by Minivan News.
However, DRP MP Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News that claims that Thasmeen could no longer be considered as the head of the DRP first surfaced yesterday evening in a report by local media organisation SunFM.
Nihan, citing SunFM, claimed that under the EC’s own mandate, details and a recording of the national congress held by the party to approve new leadership needed to be sent to the regulatory body within 15 days of the event being held.
The DRP MP claimed this still had not happened so far, representing a “clear breach” of party regulation by its leader.
Nihan, himself a supporter of the Z-DRP faction of the party that is critical of Thasmeen’s leadership, said he believed the matter was not just an administrative error and had serious implications for the party.
“This is very serious, the smallest matter can often have the largest consequence and the EC must find a way to solve the issue,” he said. “We [as a party] must do things according to laws and procedure and Thasmeen should be accountable for his mismanagement.”
In addressing the EC’s claims that it could not remove Thasmeen for failing to supply minutes from the congress, Nihan claimed that the body should also probe the DRP leader for potentially breaking the party’s laws and regulations.
The MP added that although he had not received any official notice that the DRP’s leadership were meeting about the matter, as a council member for the party he expected an official response from the Thasmeen’s side by the evening. “I’m sure a meeting will have taken place today about this, but I have no details,” he said.
Addressing the claims, EC Vice President Ahmed Hassan Fayaz told Minivan News that although he was aware of a clause in the party’s existing regulations relating to supplying official minutes to the commission, the EC did not have authority to strip a party leader of his position.
“When you to fail to inform the EC of a party decision such as a leadership, we cannot reject that person’s authority, it doesn’t work like that,” he said. “For example, when someone is born, if health authorities are not informed of the birth it does not mean that the child does not exist.”
Fayaz claimed that Thasmeen’s appointment at the congress, which was supported by Gayoom before he became openly critical of his successor earlier this year, had been witnessed by hundreds of party delegates as well as covered by local media ensuring that it was well-documented decision.
The EC vice president said that the issue was therefore an internal party issue for members.
“Perhaps the party secretariat failed to provide the minutes [within the deadline],” he said. Fayaz claimed that the DRP regulations relating to submission of the minutes did not give the EC the power to remove the party’s leader from his post. “If a formal complaint was made over the issue than we would look into it,” he said. “However, it would more be in a manner where we would offer advice to the party on how to proceed with this matter. We cannot dictate to the DRP about leadership if it has failed to inform us of its minutes.”
The claims that Thasmeen should no longer be registered as the head of the DRP reflect an increasingly bitter divide between two different factions that are contesting to represent themselves as the country’s main opposition party to the public.
Umar Naseer’s dismissal by the party last December led to factional infighting in the party between the serving leader and other MPs loyal to Naseer and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who founded the party back in 2005.
Since then, each of these factions has engaged in criticism of each other resulting in threats of potential legal action and separate presidential bids.
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