Raajje News Blog

#Maldives: As the Yameen Abdul Gayoom presidency settles in to its third week, signs of discontent are appearing among the government coalition. The new government came to power in a narrow win of 51.39% of a wide coalition of several parties led by Progressive Party of Malives (PPM) against a solitary opposition, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) led by former President Mohamed Nasheed. Yameen's narrow victory can in fact be attributed to influential business man Gasim Ibrahim throwing his full weight and that of his party (Jumhooree Party) and coalition partners behind Yameen in the final runoff. Gasim, a candidate himself for Jumhooree Coalition, came third in Round 1 of the elections, with a significant voting block of 48,131 votes (23.35%). Core members of Jumhooree Coalition were Adhaalath Party (AP) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP). As the new Government settled into power, cabinet seats and other political appointments were rapidly distributed amongst coalition partners.  Ou...

#Maldives: Unfolding political scenarios country wide bear witness that incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan will be a formidable challenge to any opponent in the upcoming Presidential Elections 2013. President Waheed yesterday publicly announced that he would be contesting the 2013 elections, leading a coalition of interested parties. The announcement was greeted with support and respect in Maldivian social media and online media, even in the light of the fact that it came on the one year anniversary of the black day that his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed tried to topple him through brute force and arson on February 8th, 2012. Dr. Waheed's popularity is on an exponential rise within all voting segments, bolstered by a series of bold nationalistic decisions in 2012 in the face of immense international and internal pressures. His historic decision, in the face of extreme Indian Government pressure, to terminate a contract made by Nasheed illegally with Indian multinatio...

#Maldives: The current political struggle in the Maldives has been grossly oversimplified and wrongly reported by some foreign powers and foreign media as a military coup that put back in power the government of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. An unbiased look at the facts of the popular non-violent struggle that led to the transfer of power on February 7th shows that it was neither a coup, nor was it an illegal ouster of a "democratic" leader. Rather, it reveals the triumph of the Maldivian people over an increasingly dictatorial leader, Mohamed Nasheed, a man who had repeatedly violated the Constitution. Fortunately for the citizens of this highly vulnerable country, their struggle has been recognized by the world powers that continue to keep a close eye on the Maldives, namely India and the United States. Nasheed's sudden claim of a military coup, over 24 hours after his public resignation telecast on all local television stations, has been blamed on his close...