Maldives polls today, but Nasheed cries foul from Colombo

The Maldives goes to the polls today (Sunday) amidst claims and counterclaims that rival parties have rigged the elections.

President Abdulla Yameen’s Progressive Party has accused the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party ( MDP) of bribing voters with funds infused from Western countries while the MDP says voter lists may have been manipulated and the counting process compromised by the incumbent in office.

The MDP's candidate is Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, but the party's de facto leader is the ousted President Mohamed Nasheed who insists the party will win.

Speaking at a news conference in Colombo he said President Yameen who was seeking

reelection would ensure that the MDP candidate was not allowed to assume power.

Mr. Nasheed who was President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012 outlined several scenarios whereby the incumbent President would rob his party of victory.

Some 263,000 people are eligible to vote, the Maldives Elections Commission (MEC) has said. The President is elected using the two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held within 21 days.

“Some fear that if the Opposition wins, it will hold all the projects and that the rapid development process may be jeopardised by regime change,” said a political analyst based in the Maldivian capital, Male. She spoke on condition of anonymity. “On the other hand, if the Opposition wins, those leaders in jail will be released and that is a positive thing for most.”

Among the many political detainees is former President, Mohamed Abdul Gayoom, who is half-brother to President Yameen, and the Chief Justice. In October 2016, the Maldives--under heavy criticism over attacks on democracy--pulled out of the Commonwealth. As a result, the Commonwealth has not sent election observers while the European Union and the United Nations have also declined. Instead, the MEC has invited representatives of the Thai, Philippines, Palestine and Romanian Elections Commissions, Mr Nasheed said. Also observing the polls are officials from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Mr Nasheed is confident that the majority backs the MDP’s candidate. He also said he had been in conversation with military and police leaders. In the event Mr Yameen does not concede defeat, “I would like to see the military back the will of the people and the constitution,” he said. “And the constitution is clear on what we have to do--back the will of the people.”

Yet, the Opposition also faces some criticism. “Honestly, I don't like Yameen,” said the analyst in Male. “But the leaders competing with him are weak. So I cannot vote for them. In general, many believe there is no good candidate from either side.”

Mr Nasheed called upon the international community to cut diplomatic relations with President Yameen’s administration if he did not accept defeat. He also invoked the possibility of sanctions.

“We are very hopeful that, when the elections are rigged, the international community would come to understand the facts,” he said. “The European Union has a framework for sanctions adopted last July. The sanctions framework, we understand, would kick in when the situation deteriorates, which could be fixing an election. Again, I have to emphasise that the election is already rigged.”