Editorial - Gayyoom getting ready for an election in Maldives? :: Dhivehi Observer

Editorial
Gayyoom getting ready for an election?

By A. S. I. Moosa (Sappe'), 23rd August 2005

There is increased speculation that Gayyoom is being forced to call for fresh elections in order to convince the international community that he means business when he says he is going to make the Maldives a multiparty democracy. Political analysts have confirmed that the pressure is being applied to Gayyoom by the Commonwealth under instruction from the European Union and the United States of America.

However, prior to the call for fresh elections, Gayyoom is trying his best to destroy the image of his main opposition the Maldivian Democratic Party. MDP is most certainly the leading party in the country because it is believed to have a larger membership and also more sympathizers than Gayyoom's own Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP). What Gayyoom wants now is to get as many businessmen and influential people behind him so that he can win a clear majority in the elections. So far, he has been successful in recruiting one of the leading dissidents Qasim Ibrahim by appointing him as his Finance Minister, a move that sent shockwaves throughout the country because most reformist did not think that Qasim would join the very man who put him in jail and tortured him just a year ago. Qasim Ibrahim is well known in the Maldives as a very generous philanthropist, who in fact runs his own welfare department to help the poor. By doing so, he has been able to play a pivotal and decisive role in the outcome of elections, both parliamentary and presidential. Qasim was believed to have been on the verge of signing up for the MDP as he is one of the first people to subscribe to its initial inception but to the disappointment of a great many people, he joined Gayyoom. Many believe that his move to join Gayyoom is an attempt to try and change things from the inside whilst others are simply turning a blind eye to the incident because they do not know what to make of it. Nevertheless, his move has been marred with allegations and accusations of selfishness and greed.

There is no doubt that Gayyoom will try to buy his way out of this but the people of Maldives are definitely not in a mood to give him that opportunity. They cannot trust a man who has been nothing but an absolute autocrat, a tyrant and a man who has ruled the country at his own will without any regard for the constitution. The people of Maldives are now well informed of his crimes. He has been living like an Arab King at the expense of basic services such as health and education. He has treated the country's wealth as his own and allowed his family and friends to enjoy the riches of life whilst the vast majority of the Maldivian people are struggling to put food on their tables or send their kids to school. Most importantly, he has been running a police state without any rule of law or justice.

It is absolutely amazing that Gayyoom still wants to remain in power despite the fact that he himself knows that he does not have any support at grass root level. The only people who support him are people who have always put their own interests first and care not about the welfare of the people.

These are testing times for the opposition movement and for the MDP especially. MDP must regroup and find more strength and challenge these problems that are being created by Gayyoom, illegally. The arrest of its Chairman along with hundreds of its hardcore supporters and bringing charges against them as well obstructing the day-to-day operations of the party are just few of the many dirty tricks that Gayyoom is playing now to ensure that MDP remains an opposition in the next government. MDP leadership must act decisively now and gain strength from the aspirations and hopes of the people and begin uniting the different groups within the party to become a formidable force that can oust this illegitimate dictator, who is obviously the main hurdle in the road to liberty and progress in our small nation.