Maldives: Political history
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Maldives: Coup and after
The Hindu, April 1, 2015
Mr. Nasheed resigned as president in 2012 following weeks of public protests against his order to arrest the top Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Mohamed was arrested soon after he released an opposition politician in detention and Nasheed’s administration accused him of political bias and corruption.
February 7, 2012
Police revolt forces Maldives President from office
In a day of dramatic developments that captured both the fragility of democracy in the Maldives and also the maturity of its political institutions, President Mohammed Nasheed resigned in the face of a mutiny by policemen that he said he did not want to put down by force, handing over the reins of power to his Vice-President, Dr. Waheed.
February 8, 2012
Waheed named President
Mohammad Waheed Hassan became the President of Maldives
February 8, 2012
Judge held by Nasheed released
A few hours after the Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed resigned office, the Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, was released. The arrest of the judge was one of the immediate causes of Mr. Nasheed’s fall from power. He had ordered the arrest of the judge on charges of corruption, irked by the fact that Mr. Abdullah set free an Opposition politician who was arrested by police loyal to Mr. Nasheed.
February 8, 2012
Violence across Maldives threatens to get out of hand
Violence, fuelled by a speculative media owing allegiance to one party or the other, spread across the atolls of the Maldives after the deposed President, Mohammed Nasheed, on Wednesday decided to take the issue to the streets.
February 9, 2012
India sends official to defuse tensions
M. Ganapathi, Secretary (West), MEA, heldconsultations with a wide range of stakeholders in The Maldives in an attempt to bring all players to the negotiating table and sort out outstanding issues.
February 9, 2012
India played neutral as Nasheed's men sought military intervention
Fearing for the personal liberty of the deposed Maldives President, Mohamed Nasheed, close aides said some of his Ministers had sought Indian military assistance when the “coup” was under way but none came.
February 9, 2012
Warrant against Nasheed
Police spokesman Abdul Mannan Yusuf refused to disclose the grounds for the warrant, or say when Mr. Nasheed, who is living at his Male home surrounded by supporters, would be arrested.
February 9, 2012
Waheed effects quick changes
Mohamed Jameel Ahmed was given the Home Affairs while Mohamed Nazim was made the Minister of Defence and National Security. They were told to resolve the situation, implement laws according to the Constitution and treat every citizen equally.
February 11, 2012
U.S. presses for Maldives coalition
Both M. Ganapathi, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert O' Blake held meetings with the former President, Mohammed Nasheed, the new President, Waheed Hassan, and other players. They stressed that the formation of a truly rainbow coalition was in the best interests of the people. The Maldivian Democratic Party of Mr. Nasheed will also talk to the new regime on joining the government.
February 12, 2012
New Maldivian Cabinet sworn in
The former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, displayed admirable restraint as new President Waheed Hassan finally got his act together, named a new Cabinet, and embarked on a Himalayan task of making the national unity government work.
February 16, 2012
India brokers deal in Maldives
Maldives will go to the polls, possibly by year-end, to elect a new President. Till then, the national unity government will run the country. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), to which the former President, Mohamed Nasheed, belongs, will be part of the government.
March 7, 2012
Gayoom returns to Maldives
Almost a month after a new regime took over in Maldives amidst allegations of coup, the former dictator, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, returned to the country, opposing early polls and claimed he had no role in the change of government.
April 19, 2012
Former dictator plotted coup, says Nasheed
The former Maldives President, Mohamed Nasheed, has said he received detailed warnings of an imminent coup from the country's military intelligence service weeks before he was ousted on February 6.
August 15, 2012
Maldives talks meander
The meeting of political parties represented in the Maldivian Parliament, The Majlis, with Vice-President Mohamed Waheedheen did not break any new ground.
August 30, 2012
Nasheed ouster not a coup: probe panel
The Commission of National Inquiry concluded that “there was no illegal coercion or intimidation nor any coup d’etat. The Commission has received no evidence supporting or to substantiate these allegations”.
February 13, 2013
Nasheed takes refuge at Indian High Commission
The former Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, walked into the Indian High Commission in Male at noon after an arrest warrant was issued against him for failure to appear in a local court.
February 23, 2013
Nasheed leaves Indian embassy after ‘deal’
Thanks to India’s intervention, the crisis in the Maldives has blown over with the former President, Mohamed Nasheed, emerging out of the Indian High Commission in Male.
September 5, 2013
Maldivian Elections Commission set for polls
September 8, 2013
It’s Nasheed vs Yaameen in run-off
Former President Mohamed Nasheed and Yaameen Abdulla, half-brother to ex-President Maumoon Gayoom, will fight it out in the second round of presidential elections, . scheduled for September 28.
12:00 AM October 8, 2013 Setback to Nasheed as top court annuls poll results
The Maldives Supreme Court, in a midnight ruling, has annulled the results of the first round elections of September 7, in which Maldivian Democratic Party candidate, Mohamed Nasheed, stood first with over 45.45 per cent of the popular vote, and the Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yaameen was placed a distant second.
October 19, 2013
Police prevent Maldives polls
Acting on a mandate from the Maldivian National Security Council headed by President Mohamed Waheed, the police prevented the country’s re-scheduled presidential elections from going ahead.
November 10, 2013
Maldives court puts off presidential runoff
The Supreme Court ruled that the consecutive days of elections would be impractical, and set November 16 for the runoff.]
November 16, 2013
Yaameen elected Maldivian President by a narrow margin
Abdulla Yaameen, half-brother of former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — who ruled the country for about three decades — will be the new President of the archipelago nation.
November 17, 2013
Yameen sworn in as Maldivian President
Mr. Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Ahmad Faiz at a special session of Parliament. He was given a 21-gun salute. Mohammad Jameel was sworn in as Vice-President.
March 23, 2014
Majority mandate for Maldives ruling coalition
The Maldivian parliamentary elections, which were held amidst the controversial removal of the head and deputy of the country’s Elections Commission, concluded largely peacefully.
February 22, 2015
Nasheed held in Male under anti-terror law
Just days after he appealed to India to intervene in the ongoing crackdown on cases of alleged treason and terrorism by the Maldives government of President Yameen, former President Mohammad Nasheed was arrested in Male.
2018
‘Chief Justice was threatened with death'
Maldives chief justice was threatened with death: Lawyer, February 8, 2018: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed was warned he would be "cut into pieces" if he did not overturn a court order quashing convictions against high-profile political dissidents: Lawyer
'The Chief Justice was forcefully dragged on the floor from his chambers by uniformed security personnel in riot gear after he told them they were in contempt of court'
MALE: The Maldives' top judge received death threats before his arrest in a regime crackdown, his lawyer said on Thursday ahead of a United Nations Security Council hearing on the island nation's political crisis. Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed was warned he would be "cut into pieces" if he did not overturn a court order quashing convictions against high-profile political dissidents, his lawyer Hisaan Hussain said.
Saeed was arrested as President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency in the honeymoon islands after refusing to obey the court order.
The top judge was accused of accepting bribes to impeach the regime leader, who has jailed most of his political opponents.
"The Chief Justice was forcefully dragged on the floor from his chambers by uniformed security personnel in riot gear after he told them they were in contempt of court," Hussain said. He did not say who issued the threats.
Saeed is among two top justices detained in a sweeping crackdown by Yameen, who has doubled down since the Supreme Court cleared his political rival Mohamed Nasheed, among other regime critics, of terrorism charges.
The remaining three judges restored the conviction Tuesday "in light of the concerns raised by the President", after Yameen declared the state of emergency and accused the justices of trying to overthrow him.
The international community has censured the president for imposing special emergency provisions that allow the military to detain suspects for long periods without charge.
The UN has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency, and will discuss the crisis gripping the Indian Ocean archipelago in a closed-door meeting at the Security Council today.
"The Maldives have seen in recent years attacks on political opponents, on journalists, on civil society and human right defenders, and what is happening now is tantamount to an all-out assault on democracy," UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement.
Maldives SC revokes order to free prisoners
Maldives SC revokes order to free prisoners, February 8, 2018: The Times of India
Move Follows Imposition Of Emergency, Top Judge’s Arrest
The political crisis in the Maldives took a turn for the worse late Tuesday night after the supreme court revoked last week’s order to release nine high-profile political prisoners. This came hours after embattled President Abdulla Yameen declared an emergency and the arrest of two judges, including chief justice Abdulla Saeed, prompting former president Mohamed Nasheed to seek India’s military intervention.
In the late-night development, the remaining three judges of the supreme court amended the order given last week to release the “prisoners”, among whom is Nasheed. In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners “in light of the concerns raised by the President”.
Earlier in the day, in his appeal to India, Nasheed had tweeted: “We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence.”
While Gayoom — a former president and Yameen’s halfbrother who is now with the opposition — had already been detained at his home early Tuesday morning, no details were given about any charges against the chief justice and the other arrested judge, Ali Hameed. Later, on national television, the President said that he had ordered the emergency to investigate what he said was a “coup”, claiming that the CJ was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.
Nasheed called Yameen's “martial law” declaration an illegal act. “President Yameen's announcement... is tantamount to a declaration of martial law. This declaration is unconstitutional and illegal. Nobody in the Maldives is required to, nor should, follow this unlawful order,” said Nasheed, who is currently in Sri Lanka. “We must remove him from power. The people of the Maldives have a legitimate request to world governments, especially to India and the US,” he said.
The US weighed in, saying it was “troubled” and “disappointed” by the declaration of emergency and asked Yameen to comply with the rule of law and implement the SC ruling.
The Maldives is an archipelago of more than 1,000 islands with fewer than 400,000 citizens, more than one-third of them living in the crowded capital city, Male.
