More Cards On The Table As MDP Meets On Joint Candidate

Mohamed Nasheed (Anni), presidential candidate for the largest opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), on Wednesday publicly said he was seeking to become the running mate of independent candidate Dr Hassan Saeed, who is running under the New Maldives banner.

Ahead of the MDP’s National Council meeting scheduled for Thursday night, Anni said that he believed Saeed “should be the candidate” for the National Unity Alliance of five opposition groups, and added: “We hope [the] Adhaalath [party] will support this combination.”

The pair have long been rumoured to be seeking a joint campaign. But on 29 April the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) proposed finance minister Gasim Ibrahim as a potential Alliance candidate, despite his government position.

However MDP parliamentary group leader Hassan Afeef said he believed the MDP could secure support from “the majority of the Alliance” for the Saeed-Anni team.

Party Endorsement

Anni last week secured a landslide victory to become the MDP candidate, with 68 per cent of the party vote.

But he had campaigned heavily on an Alliance platform, leading to wide speculation he would seek a pairing with former attorney general Saeed – an idea believed to have boosted his support in Saeed’s home atoll of Addu.

The plan was not made public until Wednesday, when Anni said he was prepared to become Saeed’s running mate at a meeting in the party’s Harugé centre in Malé.

But the question of party endorsement remains. A proposal on the principle of a joint candidate has now been submitted to the MDP’s National Council, with a vote scheduled for Thursday night.

The proposal refers simply to “a joint candidate from within the Alliance”. Asked whether this ruled out Gasim, currently a vice-president of the ruling Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP), Afeef said: “If Gasim remains in the DRP he will not be a presidential candidate – the best he could achieve would be a running mate position.”

But he added: “[Gasim] is a person who can understand what the people want and what the reformists are looking for.”

With the Alliance due to meet again next week on the issue, it appears doubtful a final conclusion will be reached by the MDP on Thursday.

And MDP spokespeople would not comment on the possibility of Gasim emerging as an opponent to Saeed and Anni.

Power Sharing

Details of a possible power-sharing arrangement for an Alliance coalition have yet to emerge, but Afeef and Anni said on Thursday they would expect member parties to gain cabinet positions “in proportion to their number of members”.

Asked where that would leave Saeed’s New Maldives colleagues Dr Ahmed Shaheed, given the unregistered movement has no official membership, the MDP leaders called for the former foreign minister to join their party.

“Dr Shaheed has the political insight for a cabinet portfolio. But if he doesn’t belong to a political party he doesn’t have a chance,” said Afeef.

Shaheed was travelling and unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

Adhaalath Power

With at least six thousand members registered by the Elections Commission, and claiming it actually commands the support of 15,000 Maldivians, the backing of the religious Adhaalath party could be crucial to any Alliance or partial-Alliance candidate.

Adhaalath spokesman Shaheem Ali Said told Minivan News: “The Adhaalath cannot do anything without the MDP, and the MDP cannot do anything by themselves.”

Having declared the party will back another group’s candidate rather than field its own, a five-member Adhaalath committee has started considering the options, according to Shaheem.

But he warned: “If Hassan Saeed and Anni agree on their own sharing, then it is not Alliance.”

Cabinet positions would be secondary for Adhaalath, he added. “The main target is to show a good [candidate] to the people.”

Unacceptable?

Of the remaining Alliance members, the IDP has previously told local newspaper Miadhu it would find an Anni/Saeed team unacceptable.

And head of the Social Liberal Party Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) has repeatedly said he does not support identifying a joint candidate at this stage.

New election regulations require that if no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the vote initially, a second vote must be held between the two frontrunners. Ibra argues multiple candidates will increase turnout in the first round, meaning incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom could face a second round against a default opposition candidate.

Leader will win election regardless of running mate - Shafiu

Chief Spokesperson of DRP Ibrahim Shafiu has said that President Gayoom will win the next presidential elections by 65% majority regardless of his choice of running mate. He made the statement to Miadhu Daily when asked to comment on the speculation of many political minded people of the general public that President Gayoom’s success in the forthcoming presidential elections depends on whom he choose to be his running mate.

Chief Spokesperson said that President Gayoom’s success has no relation to his running mate and that President Gayoom will win the first multiparty presidential elections to be held later this year will be won by 65% majority regardless of who of the running mate.

“In actual fact when you consider the support and affection the president has it makes no difference who the running mate is, he will win the top office even if there is no running mate, I have full confidence that President Gayoom will win by at least 65% even if he choose a man from the street as his running mate “ Shafiu said.
Shafiu further said election results will be affected depending on the running mate the President choose and that if the running mate is a person with good relations with the people the result would go up from 65% to 76%.

“One cannot say that success of President Gayoom in the next presidential elections depend on his running mate, considering the popularity of the President, but wining with a huge majority is entirely a different matter, President Gayoom’s choice of running mate can make a big difference and help the president win by landslide, the point I am making here is it does not matter who the running mate is, President has enough support to win this elections’ said Shaifu.

Despite Shafiu’s comments many feel that unless President Gayoom chose somebody like Finance Minister Qasim Ibrahim he will not win the elections.

Dr. Shaheed express doubts over Alliance ability to have a single candidate

Dr. Ahmed Shaeed former Foreign Minister as well as the Chief Spokesperson of the National Unity Alliance has expressed doubts over the alliance ability to agree on a single candidate.

Dr. Shaheed said that there are major differences among the members of the alliance. “Individual parties should not attempting be attempting to take ownership of the Alliance, the biggest reason why the people hate the government is because some people have made it their own property” Dr. Shaheed said. He said the government that is going to be formed at this stage should be formed among majority of the parties.

“If the intentions are to work for the future benefits of the people then the government this going to formed should have the participation of the parties” said Dr. Shaheed. He further said the objective of the alliance is to introduce reform and that it can be achieved by an alliance of any group.

Dr. Shaheed and Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) are of the opinion that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) must play a major role in bringing a single candidate to represent the Alliance. Vice President of IDP Mohamed Hassan Manik said that it is up to MDP to bring out a single candidate and that it was in the hands of the National Council of MDP.

Dr. Shaheed said that MDP’s role on the issue is important simply because MDP is main opposition party and if the Alliance is to bring out side MDP then the opportunit

IDP propose Qasim as Alliance candidate

Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) has proposed Finance Minister Qasim Ibrahim as the presidential candidate of the Alliance to compete against president Gayoom in the forthcoming presidential elections scheduled for later this year. The proposal came at the meeting of the Alliance held yesterday.

Speaking at the meeting President of IDP said that if the Alliance is considering to have a candidate out side the Alliance then the candidate must have the capacity and ability to defeat President Gayoom and that IDP proposes Finance Minister Qasim Ibrahim to that candidate. Umar also proposed that if candidate is to be elected within the Alliance then a primary election should be held. Umar informed that although a decision was not reached at yesterday’s meeting, the Alliance did not reject IDP’s proposals. Further Miadhu Daily also learnt that MDP president Dr. Munavavar informed the Alliance that the matter of Alliance being represented by candidate outside MDP needs to be addressed first at the party’s National Council.

Attempts made by Miadhu Daily to contact the Spokesperson of the Alliance Dr. Ahmed Shaheed to obtain more information on the meeting proved futile. However speaking to Miadhu Daily on an earlier occasion Dr. Shaheed has said that to have an outside candidate was not acceptable.

Leader of Social Liberal Party (SLP) Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) speaking at a news conference has said that the comments made some politicians in the name of Alliance were not true and that the Alliance has not reached a decision on its candidate.

Speaking at the news conference Ibra condemned that the claims made by some politicians, in the name of the Alliance, that the next government would be formed by a specific party. He also said that those claims that international community prefers a single candidate to represent the alliance are also simply not true.

According to Ibra the objective of the Alliance was to introduce some changes to the political arena but that what he is now seeing is that some politicians attempting to achieve other objectives rather than what the Alliance was established for. He said if any one of the five which forms the Alliance breaks away then it will no longer be called an Alliance.

HRCM Will Not Observe Presidential Elections

The Human Rights Commission (HRCM) has decided not to send observers to the Maldives’ first multi-party presidential elections, expected later this year.

Commissioner Mariyam Azra Ahmed said the decision had been taken because “other human rights commissions do not observe elections”.

The HRCM sent ten observers to last year’s referendum on form of government, in which Maldivians chose a presidential over a parliamentary system. It judged the referendum to be “generally fair”.

Former foreign minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, who recently set up the organisation Maldives Election Watch to “be vigilant over any moves to prevent free and fair elections”, said the decision was “very disappointing and very strange”.

The HRCM will be involved to the extent of “see[ing] that all individuals receive the right to vote,” said Azra. But the nature of its involvement will not be determined until June.

Assistant director general Mohamed Tholal, of the Elections Commission, said the body had not yet invited any observers to attend the elections, as a date has not been set.

Recently passed transitional material in the constitution in progress specifies elections must be held by 10 October 2008, though the elections commission – due to become independent within 30 days of ratification of the constitution – must set a date.

But the foreign ministry has invited international bodies such as the European Union (EU) to observe, with the EU pledging a “technical team” of up to four members, and the Commonwealth saying details of its involvement have not yet been confirmed.

The HRCM’s verdict on last August’s referendum was that the poll had been “generally fair,” despite claims by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that the vote was rigged.

In its press release on the referendum, the HRCM said “few complaints of bribing, intimidation, use of influence and other such cases in breach of the regulations… were received.”

But it also said there were areas in need of improvement, such as “a more open and transparent approach...during the process of casting and counting the ballots”, and the “involve[ment of] all political parties”.

Before it became independent under the Human Rights Commission Act, the HRCM judged parliamentary elections held in January 2005 to be “not in general free, fair or without undue influence”, though its findings were dismissed by the Maldivian government at that time.

The HRCM has now been “advised” election observation does not fall within its mandate, according to Azra.