Maldives finally elects a new president

The South Asian nation of Maldives has finally chose a president in the runoff polls on Saturday (November 16) as Abdullah Yameen secured more than required fifty per cent of the votes, ending a long period of political uncertainties and instability. He beat Mohammad Nasheed, the first elected president of the Indian Ocean archipelago. Nasheed won the first round of the election, held on November 09 last, but did not receive the necessary number of votes.

Abdullah Yameen is half brother of Mamun Abdul Gayoom who ruled the nation with an iron fist for three decades. Yameen has pledged to work for political understanding and stability of the country. In a remarkable gesture, Mohammad Nasheed conceded defeat and said he was happy that a democratically elected president has now taken over following a long spell of restive political situation.

Earlier, the political situation in the Maldives was getting increasingly complicated over the new election schedule for choosing a president as the political parties adopted different positions over the new election date and the runoff polls. It is against this background, the Maldives appeared to be on the brink of a severe political crisis, threatening its new-found democracy. The just-concluded commonwealth summit in Colombo had expressed its concern over the developments in Sri Lanka's neighbour and urged for practice of democracy. That phase is now over as the country has reverted to democratic rule following election of a new president in the polls, seen as fair and credible by local and foreign observers.

The election for presidency took place first on September 07 that failed to produce a clear winner although Mohammad Nasheed received more votes than other candidates. The runoff voting between Nasheed, the clear winner in the first round, and his nearest rival Abdullah Yameen, was scheduled for September 28. Then president Wahid Hasan Manik suffered a humiliating defeat as he could secure only a little more than five per cent vote while two other candidates were staunchly anti-Nasheed. In the run-off, all of them including the outgoing president, pledged support to Abdullah Yameen. But the Supreme Court of the country abruptly cancelled the runoff and  also annulled the results of the first-round elections at the last moment. This plunged the nation of only a few thousand  people (9338,442 -- World Bank, 2012) into a deepening political crisis.

Because of domestic and international pressures, a new election schedule was announced for November 09, but the process at one stage seemed to hang in the balance because of varying interpretations of affairs related to the polls by different parties.

THE NASHEED LEGACY: Mohammad Nasheed, who created history by becoming the first elected president in the Sunni Muslim nation, had a tough time since he was toppled in the mutiny by police and soldiers in February, 2012.  

Nasheed was ousted from power through violent protests. Alleged foreign interference made the scenario more complicated. Nasheed was succeeded by vice-president Wahid Hasan Manik, whom the former accused of engineering the mutiny against him, but the latter denied the charge.

The government of president Waheed Hasan Manik accused big neighbour India of meddling in its internal affairs as it alleged that New Delhi interfered in the affairs of the island state by sheltering Mohammad Nasheed in its high commission in the Maldivian capital. Nasheed had been in trouble since his overthrow and much later took shelter in the Indian chancery in the capital fearing that he would be arrested. A warrant of arrest was issued against him for abuse of power when he was president, but later the government softened its attitude.

Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party kept the pot boiling against successor Manik, charging that he occupied power in unconstitutional manner. However, influential countries like the United States extended recognition to the new government and this had come as a shot in the arms of Nasheed's successor, who otherwise appeared to struggle for

legitimacy.

Nasheed in 2008  won the first multi-party elections that saw the long-time autocrat Mamoon Abdul Gayoom first bowing before people's demand for democracy and then, he himself being defeated in the balloting by a pro-democracy leader. Nasheed, a commoner, who had to live in exile because of his involvement in the anti-government agitation, returned to the country after the stage was set for free elections. He won, but was forced to quit power before the term was over by an agitation that had the characteristic of a coup in which the police played an important role.

What occurred in the country in the shape of resignation of president Nasheed was least expected as he was not embroiled in serious trouble until days before the problem began brewing. Street demonstrations centring the arrest of a judge, who was seen as favouring the opposition in his verdicts, took a serious turn. The unrest snowballed and a revolt mainly by the police and supported by a section of the army forced the president to quit. Nasheed insists that he was ousted through a "conspiracy" hatched by his vice-president in collusion with sections of the police and

the army.

Things took a complex turn when Nasheed took shelter in the Indian high commission in Male. The government felt that India was meddling in the affairs by giving shelter to the former president. Male-New Delhi relations suffered setbacks, mainly after the Maldivian government annulled the contract of an Indian firm in running the international airport in the capital. It was also believed that India is soft to Mohammad Nasheed, whose tenure saw much better bilateral relations. As the presidential polls approached this time, New Delhi in a statement said it was important that all presidential candidates are allowed to take part in the elections without any fear and obstacles for the sake of democracy.

THE NEW PRESIDENT: As the new president Abdullah Yameen has just taken over, the United States and India were among the nations to congratulate the new government. Abdullah Yameen also pledged to work with all countries including the neighbours.

As the fluid political situation has ended, analysts believe that former autocrat Mamun Abdul Gayoom may seek to call shots in Maldives once again from behind the curtain since his half brother is now the president following a hard-fought election. However, it is also plausible to think that Abdullah Yameen would be cautious enough not to give the impression that he has won the position on the coattail of his half brother and would strive to prove his own style of functioning.

Maldives, although a small nation in terms of population, is internationally and regionally important for its strategic location. Besides, it is the "paradise" for the tourists. Maldives is a staunch supporter of the eight-nation south Asian forum SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and its developments were a matter of concern in the region.

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