ID :
27567
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 19:17
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/27567
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New Maldives Prez wants mid-term polls for stable democracy
Male, Oct 30 (PTI) As new Maldives President Mohammad "Anni" Nasheed prepares to assume office, he has indicated that he wants to hold a mid-term election to allow democracy to gain a strong foundation in the picturesque archipelago.
"I have also promised that we hope there will be another election when democracy is more stable," Nasheed, who ended 30 years run in office of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said in an interview.
This, he said, would leave room for the opposition leaders to aspire for leadership and would make democracy, which is "still at a nascent stage" in Maldives more stable.
The remarks of the President elect, who is likely to take over early next month, assumes significance as observers feel Nasheed may face problems in running a coalition of parties having varied policies.
Asked about introduction of Shariat laws being propounded by some parties, Nasheed said, "Maldives was a 100 percent Muslim country... so you cannot leave them outside in the margins."
In an interview to Al-jazeera, Nasheed said he did not believe in pursuing a policy of vendetta and promised a better life especially for the over 20 per cent people living below the poverty line.
"You cannot have witchhunt," the new President said as he
did not rule out a role for his predecessor Gayoom in the new
political set up.
"It is very important to have a place for Gayoom. We
don’t have a former ruler alive with us still. Statehood and
statecraft involves experienced past rulers in the country, at
times coming out and sharing their experiences of the past,"
Nasheed said.
It was after a six-term regime as the undisputed ruler of
the Maldives that Gayoom lost power to a former political
prisoner in the first-ever democratic presidential polls in
the island nation.
Gayoom had remained at the helm of affairs in Maldives, a
liberal Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people, unchallenged
since 1978.
There were at least three coup attempts against Gayoom
and he survived a bid on his life early this year. The man,
who tried to attack the President with a knife, was
overpowered and Gayoom escaped without any injury.
In November 1998, India's help was sought to crush a coup
against the ruler. Indian troops landed in the island and
successfully put down the coup.
Nasheed, who spent six years in jail in Maldives and was
described by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of
conscience," was granted political asylum by the UK in 2004.
He returned to the country on April 30, 2005 after Gayoom
was persuaded by international human rights groups and the EU
to launch a democratic reform programme. Gayoom lifted the ban
on political parties, promising to hold the nation's first
multiparty presidential election.
41-year-old Nasheed, a maritime engineer by profession,
secured 54.25 per cent of the votes cast in Tuesday’s
presidential run-off as against 45.75 per cent by 71-year-old
Gayoom. PTI
"I have also promised that we hope there will be another election when democracy is more stable," Nasheed, who ended 30 years run in office of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said in an interview.
This, he said, would leave room for the opposition leaders to aspire for leadership and would make democracy, which is "still at a nascent stage" in Maldives more stable.
The remarks of the President elect, who is likely to take over early next month, assumes significance as observers feel Nasheed may face problems in running a coalition of parties having varied policies.
Asked about introduction of Shariat laws being propounded by some parties, Nasheed said, "Maldives was a 100 percent Muslim country... so you cannot leave them outside in the margins."
In an interview to Al-jazeera, Nasheed said he did not believe in pursuing a policy of vendetta and promised a better life especially for the over 20 per cent people living below the poverty line.
"You cannot have witchhunt," the new President said as he
did not rule out a role for his predecessor Gayoom in the new
political set up.
"It is very important to have a place for Gayoom. We
don’t have a former ruler alive with us still. Statehood and
statecraft involves experienced past rulers in the country, at
times coming out and sharing their experiences of the past,"
Nasheed said.
It was after a six-term regime as the undisputed ruler of
the Maldives that Gayoom lost power to a former political
prisoner in the first-ever democratic presidential polls in
the island nation.
Gayoom had remained at the helm of affairs in Maldives, a
liberal Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people, unchallenged
since 1978.
There were at least three coup attempts against Gayoom
and he survived a bid on his life early this year. The man,
who tried to attack the President with a knife, was
overpowered and Gayoom escaped without any injury.
In November 1998, India's help was sought to crush a coup
against the ruler. Indian troops landed in the island and
successfully put down the coup.
Nasheed, who spent six years in jail in Maldives and was
described by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of
conscience," was granted political asylum by the UK in 2004.
He returned to the country on April 30, 2005 after Gayoom
was persuaded by international human rights groups and the EU
to launch a democratic reform programme. Gayoom lifted the ban
on political parties, promising to hold the nation's first
multiparty presidential election.
41-year-old Nasheed, a maritime engineer by profession,
secured 54.25 per cent of the votes cast in Tuesday’s
presidential run-off as against 45.75 per cent by 71-year-old
Gayoom. PTI
