MDP To Contest Island Elections

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has become the first party to publicly announce it will contest the elections to Island Committees scheduled for 1 June.

The decision was made at a meeting of Dhaaira Presidents (heads of local party branches) in Malé on Sunday.

The party says it will field candidates unofficially if the government continues to insist candidates cannot stand on party tickets.

Party Lines Inevitable

MDP Secretary General Hamid Abdul Gafoor told Minivan News “having completed the meeting of Dhaaira Presidents, the Party wishes to stand in the elections.”

Hamid dismissed the refusal of the Atolls Ministry to allow candidates to stand on party tickets. “In the last by-elections for the Special Majlis, the Elections Commissioner announced the contest would not be on party lines, but everyone understood it was on party lines,” he said.

“Party lines will be much more defined this time. And it will become more at each election,” he added.

No Legislation

The 1 June poll will mean all members of island committees will be directly elected for the first time. Previously government appointed Atoll Chiefs, had the power to select between two and five committee members, depending on the island size.

Attols Minister Waheed Deen has called the elections using his ministerial prerogative to amend regulations governing the selection of island committee members. The MDP strongly opposes the use of presidential or ministerial decrees to impose reforms in the absence of legislation passed by the Majlis.

The MDP was considering boycotting the elections in protest at the failure of the government to meet its roadmap to reform commitment to introduce a bill on local government by January of this year. A draft Decentralised Administration bill was eventually published by the Atolls Ministry in March, but is yet to be tabled in the People’s Majlis.

Thaa Atoll Dhaaira President Hassan Afeef said the MDP would continue to highlight the absence of local government legislation in its election campaigns.

Both Afeef and Hamid were bullish about the MDP’s prospects for the elections. “Our target is to win all 200 committees,” Hamid said, “And we think we have the capacity to do so.”

DRP Undecided

No official from the government's Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) was available to comment on how they intend to approach the elections. But on Saturday, the DRP told Minivan News they had yet to make a decision.

As the party of government, the DRP may be more limited by the directive that candidates do not stand on party lines.