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GOOD NEWS FOR DEMOCRACY #Elections in Maldives

                                       Image credits- canva.com

"We welcome the successful completion of the third Presidential Election in the Maldives which according to preliminary information, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammad Solih has won."

These were the exact words used by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, early morning on 24th September 2018. This was just before the official declaration of the Presidential Elections held on 23rd September 2018. There was a lot of chatter before the election took place that incumbent President Abdullah Yameen might rig the elections. But, things panned out differently, and democracy prevailed. Joint Opposition leader, and candidate from the Maldives Democratic Party Ibrahim Mohammad Solih won 58.4% votes, while Abdullah Yameen won 41.66% votes. But, the real drama was yet to unfold. Even though people of the Maldives had voted for a change, they expected Abdullah Yameen to not accept the results, and once again throw the nation into turmoil. But, interestingly, he accepted defeat, and even claimed that he had congratulated Solih on his victory. These sequence of events are indeed wonderful for the small archipelago situated on the Indian Ocean. 

There are many issues concerning Maldives currently. The fact that  relations between Maldives and India have been very strained over the last year or so is testimony to the fact that the Indian government is pleased with the outcome of these elections. Moreover, since Yameen came to power in 2013, he has established a close relationship with China, which is of concern to India. But, in this blog, I won't get into the deep political issues concerning the recently held elections. I will look at them with a positive outlook.

A few weeks before the elections took place, Subramanian Swamy had tweeted controversially saying that India would invade Maldives if rigging of elections took place. Perhaps, he went a little overboard. But, the fact is that India has always supported Maldives. India had given two 'Dhruv Helicopters' to them in 2013. Moreover, Maldives was one of the first countries visited by Narendra Modi once he got elected in 2014. But, since Yameen got elected in 2013, the Maldives has only strengthened its relationship with China. The emergency declared by Yameen in February 2018 caused an international outbreak of resentment. China was also among the countries that did not back this move by Yameen. 

Thus, it was natural that going into this election, there were a lot of issues plaguing the fundamental nature of democratic politics in the small group of islands. Yameen had repeatedly engaged in subterfuge, and people were being denied their rights. They feared that unfair means might be used once again and Yameen might prevail. A day before the elections, police raided the Democratic Party's headquarters feeling that the party was indulging in unfair means. This only increased the speculations being put forth.

But, eventually, I would say humanity prevailed. Democracy was once again bestowed upon Maldives. The fact that Yameen unexpectedly accepted defeat further proves the fact that elections were held in a free and fair manner. Moreover, the voter turnout was an amazing 89.2%. Compare this with India's voter turnout in 2014, which was 66.38% (ironically the highest ever for India), and you would feel that the small group of islands is indeed performing very well. Yes, India is perhaps a hundred times larger and more diverse than Maldives, but the voter turnout in Maldives was much more than what people had expected.

I am in no means vindicating Abdullah Yameen from all the charges placed against him. But, I feel that the democratic elections held in Maldives is going to be recorded in history books. I hope that this is the beginning of a lot of progress for the small group of Islands, and ushers a new era of peace and prosperity. I look at this with an optimistic lens, and feel that bilateral relations between India and Maldives will once again prosper. I hope this sets an example for other countries to follow suit. Let us hope for the best...

 Latest News #10/11/18:
Narendra Modi to attend President Solih's swearing-in event in Maldives. He will be visiting him on 17th November 2018. Another positive step towards establishing good relations between Maldives and India...

Sources
(i) https://thewire.in/south-asia/maldives-elections-abdulla-yameen-mea-ibu-solih
(ii)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldivian_presidential_election,_2018
(iii) www.indianexpress.com
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Comments

  1. Elio27 September 2018 at 10:24

    A very informative article. Really helped me gain knowledge on this topic.

    ReplyDelete

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