Maldives scrambles to hold back-to-back presidential elections this weekend

Friday, 8 November 2013 06:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Uditha Jayasinghe in Male Loudspeakers blaring the virtues of presidential candidates trundle through capital Male as thousands of people get ready for landmark back-to-back elections this weekend that will see a new president elected to the politically troubled Indian Ocean group of islands. Famous for its pristine beaches and crystal-blue waters Maldives is a retreat for the well-heeled and honeymooners, but what most do not know is the troubling political backdrop to the sun dappled beauty travellers are greeted with. Maldives’ political system has been bubbling since former President Mohammad Nasheed was controversially ousted from power in February 2012 by his then Vice

President, who took over the job as head of state. Nasheed continues to allege that he was ousted in a coup, even though a special Commonwealth committee ruled that the transition of power was legal. Nasheed remains the first democratically elected president of the Maldives when in 2008 he beat autocratic ruler President Abdul Gayoom after three decades. President Mohammed Waheed was then entrusted the task of holding presidential elections in September 2013 to legitimise his rule. Stern eye on developments Former President Nasheed was allowed to contest the polls, largely due to the influence of regional super power India who has kept a stern eye on Maldives politics for decades, despite multiple attempts to disqualify him as a candidate. Predictably Nasheed romped home in the first round of polls on 7 September with 45.45%, well ahead of his rivals Jumhoory Party presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim and former President Gayoom’s half-brother MP Abdulla Yamin. However, Nasheed failed to reach a crucial 50% mark that would have made him the outright winner and avoided a second round re-vote as specified by the Maldives Constitution. President Waheed made a humiliating show of just 5% of the vote leading him to later withdraw his hat from the ring and pledge to oversee a peaceful transition of power that demands a new president should be sworn in on 11 November to avoid a Constitutional crisis. Gasim, who is commonly dubbed the richest man in the Maldives, then lodged a case in the Supreme Court alleging mass scale vote rigging even though over a thousand local and international monitors had pronounced the election as free and fair. Yamin who bagged some 3000 votes more than Gasim to take a narrow second place lead was to face a second round runoff on 28 September but as political infighting deepened the Supreme Court indefinitely postponed the second round, later cancelling it altogether. A second attempt to election a president was made on 19 October but was also derailed after Yamin and Gasim failed to sign off on a crucial voter’s list as dictated by a set of guidelines issued by the Supreme Court. This led to the Police blocking the distribution of ballot papers and boxes to some 200 islands. A cornered Elections Commissioner Fuad Thoufeek called off the election just hours ahead of voting and charged that the Police had disrupted polling. With time running out Toufeek met with the candidates and tabled a third set of elections on 9 November with a second round runoff on 16 November if necessary. Constitutional void looms But with a Constitutional void looming if a president is not elected on 11 November the dates have been juggled once again. Maldives election officials on Wednesday decided to move up a second round runoff for the presidential elections to Sunday scheduling back to back polling in the deeply contentious race to elect the next head of State. Maldives will hold the first round of the presidential elections on Saturday. However, if none of the candidates’ poll more than 50% of the vote the Maldives Constitution demands a second round re-vote between the two top candidates. Analysts fear that a Constitutional void will deepen political infighting that has already derailed two previous attempts to elect a new president. The commission in a statement said if the presidential re-vote on Saturday goes to a runoff, the second round will be held the next day. The move was pushed by Maldives President Mohammad Waheed who had talks with the three candidates on Wednesday in an attempt to avoid the Constitutional crisis. A senior United Nations political official began a two-day mission to the Maldives on Wednesday along with Indian diplomats to push for free and fair presidential elections. The visit by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco follows a call by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Maldives to hold a re-run as soon as possible so that a new president can be sworn in before the constitutional deadline of 11 November.