In a press interview today, Jumhooree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim accused Maldives President Nasheed of violating his pre-election deal with his party. “We have fulfilled his every demand. As promised, we heavily funded him in the second round of his presidential campaign and worked hard to elect him. Nasheed would not be sitting in that seat if not for us. In return he promised us 30% of cabinet posts during his five year term. Specifically, the portfolios of Attorney General, Tourism, Home Affairs, and Islamic Affairs Ministries. But Nasheed is blatantly violating our agreed terms,” Gasim stated.Referring to Nasheed’s sudden sacking of Jumhooree Party Council member Diyana Saeed from her post as Attorney General this week, Gasim said, “Nasheed can’t do this, as that portfolio belongs to Jumhooree Party. Our party council will be nominating someone for that post.
Gasim also revealed that Nasheed has further violated their agreement by refusing to re-appoint him as Home Minister. Gasim, who began Nasheed’s presidential term as Home Minister, resigned only 21 days after taking office, citing unbridgeable differences of opinion between himself and Nasheed. Speaking at a news conference last month, he elaborated on these differences and accused Nasheed of not acting in the best interests of the country and its people.
“Nasheed does not have the freedom to appoint any of his cronies to the posts of Attorney General and Home Minister. He is legally bound to give those portfolios to persons nominated by my party. I call upon President Nasheed to honor his agreement with my party”, the Jumhooree Party leader said today.
“Our Party Council met immediately after my resignation and unanimously requested me to continue as Home Minister. I accepted my party’s decision and it wrote to Nasheed nominating me to the Home Minister’s portfolio again, but Nasheed refused to appoint me. He has not honored his signed pact with us”, Gasim revealed.
These accusations and revelations by popular philanthropist and prominent businessman Gasim Ibrahim come at a time that the disintegrating Nasheed government is struggling to hold on to power. After six months of hardship and lies under the Nasheed regime, a disgruntled public is demanding that Nasheed deliver on his election promises. The media report daily on more and more incidences of Nasheed’s violation of his promises. Islamic Development Party leader Umar Naseer’s publication “The 50 lies of President Nasheed” was sold out rapidly. Evidence of this growing opposition to Nasheed’s autocratic regime is his party’s massive defeat in the recent parliamentary elections, in spite of Nasheed’s state funded campaign for his party’s candidates.
Nasheed came to power carried upon the shoulders of a coalition led by Jumhooree Party, Jumhooree ally Adhaalath, Social Liberal Party and Dr. Hassan Saeed’s followers. Nasheed, the Maldivian Democratic Party’s candidate, was heavily defeated in round one of the 2008 presidential elections by incumbent President Gayoom, losing by a massive 27,478 votes. Gayoom won a resounding 71,731 votes, 41% of the vote. However, Gayoom faced a second round of elections as this fell below the mandatory 51% of the vote. Nasheed’s promotion to the second round was purely accidental, as the constitution required that the second round run-off be between the two candidates winning the most votes in the first round of voting.
Nasheed sold everything to his coalition partners, knowing that he did not have the support to defeat Gayoom on his own in the second round. As is being revealed in detail now, Nasheed has no intention of honoring these deals. Once victorious, Nasheed has reneged on his deals with each and every coalition party. In January, Dr. Hassan Saeed’s newly formed Qaumee Party condemned Nasheed for his deceit, and its leader Dr. Hassan Saeed exited from Nasheed’s government accusing Nasheed of undemocratic actions imperiling the country. Social Liberal Party leader Ibrahim Ismail has been equally vocal in calling upon Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party to live up to their election promises. Jumhooree Party joined these ranks today.
“We in Jumhooree Party worked hard to bring the coalition partners together. And during these months of Nasheed as president, we have worked equally hard to try and maintain this coalition, even in the face of Nasheed’s many mistakes and his reneging of deals with coalition partners. However, the coalition meetings have been acrimonious and differences unbridgeable”, Jumhooree Party leader Gasim said today.