MALE // The first democratically elected president of the Maldives and the brother of the country’s former autocratic ruler have qualified for a run-off.
But the Supreme Court has postponed Sunday’s run-off by six days, setting the stage for a constitutional crisis in this tourist paradise that has been buffeted by political turmoil for the past five years. Mohamed Nasheed, who resigned as president of the archipelago last year, won nearly 47 per cent of the popular vote in Saturday’s election, while Yaamin Abdul Gayoom, the brother of 30-year autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, trailed with 30 per cent. A third candidate, the businessman Qasim Ibrahim, had 23 per cent.
A run-off between the top two candidates was required as neither received at least 50 per cent of the vote.
It was supposed to be held Sunday, but hours earlier the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a petition filed by a member of Mr Ibrahim’s Jumhoory Party who asked for a postponement arguing there was little time to campaign or forge alliances. The court set the run-off election for Saturday as it was originally scheduled before it was moved up on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s behest to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Mr Hassan’s term ends on Monday and the constitution requires an elected president be in office by that date. The Supreme Court on Saturday reiterated its previous ruling that Mr Hassan will stay in office until a run-off election is held if no clear winner emerged from the first round, ignoring the possibility of a political logjam.
The Maldives has faced much upheaval in the five years it has been a multiparty democracy. Society and even families have been divided along party lines, and institutions like the judiciary, public service, armed forces and police have worked in different directions and been accused of political bias. There is fear that continued political turmoil could harm Maldives’ reputation for stability and economy. The country is heavily reliant on tourism, which contributed 27 per cent to the gross domestic product in 2012.
The next president faces huge challenges in building public confidence in government institutions and dealing with pressing issues including high unemployment, increasing drug addiction among young people and improving transportation among the far-off islands.
Mr Gayoom also told reporters on Saturday that he wants a postponement of the run-off to sort out alleged discrepancies in the voters’ list. Mr Nasheed had said the elections were fair.
There is deep mistrust between Mr Nasheed, Mr Hassan and the Supreme Court because the former president believes the other two are under the influence of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The integrity of the Supreme Court has been called into question with the United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay last week accusing it of interfering with the presidential election and subverting the democratic process. Mr Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party had insisted that the run-off be held as planned accusing his opponent of “once again, trying to subvert democracy by refusing to sign the voter lists”.
It called on the international community to do everything possible to ensure that a president is elected by a constitutional deadline that falls on Monday.
“The international community must apply pressure, including targeted, punitive sanctions, on those individuals who seek to undermine Maldivian democracy,” the party said.
The United States asked authorities to hold the run-off immediately, saying a delay beyond Monday could result in uncertainties that could destabilise the country.
“Voters deserve a greater degree of predictability over something as serious as a presidential election,” the US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
* Associated Press
