Maldives: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Waheed Hassan
Head of Government: President Waheed Hassan

A 1968 referendum approved the constitution, making Maldives a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The constitution was amended in 1970, 1972, 1975, and again in 2008.

Ibrahim Nasir, Prime Minister under the pre-1968 sultanate, became President and held office from 1968 to 1978. He was succeeded by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was elected President in 1978 and reelected in 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, and again in October 2003. After 30 years of rule, in October 2008 Gayoom was defeated by Maldivian Democratic Party candidate Mohamed Nasheed in the first multiparty presidential elections held in 30 years. President Nasheed was inaugurated on November 11, 2008 as head of the executive branch. Nasheed reduced the number of government ministries from 21 to 14, appointed a 14-member cabinet, and replaced the eight Majlis members appointed by his predecessor.

The current unicameral Majlis, elected in May 2009, is composed of 77 members serving 5-year terms. In February 2009, the Majlis passed legislation that increased the number of seats to 77 from 50. Election results were: DRP 36.8%, MDP 32.9 %, PA 9.2%, DQP 2.6% Republican Party 1.3%, independents 17.1%; seats by party--DRP 28, MDP 26, PA 7, DQP 2, Republican Party 1, independents 13. The next Majlis elections will be held in 2014.

The Maldivian legal system--a mixture of traditional Islamic and common-law principles--is administered by an attorney general, prosecutor general, secular officials, a chief justice, and lesser judges on each of the 19 atolls, who are appointed by the president. A new Supreme Court appointed by the previous President, Gayoom, took office in September 2008. Under the laws of the 2008 constitution, however, the judiciary has been subject to review by the Judicial Services Commission, and permanent Supreme Court justices were sworn in on August 10, 2010. High Court judges were appointed on March 27, 2011. Every inhabited island has a magistrate court.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
On November 8, 1988, Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries tried to overthrow the Maldivian Government. At President Gayoom's request, the Indian military suppressed the coup attempt within 24 hours. In September 2003, following the death of an inmate, a brief prison riot broke out on an island near the capital, Male. Three other inmates were killed during the incident. In response to the killings of the inmates, brief rioting took place on the streets of Male.

Under Gayoom, the government often prevented opposition rallies from taking place. President Gayoom's commitment to introduce political reforms in June 2004 was widely welcomed. A human rights commission was established, and a special Majlis, or parliament, was convened to consider changes in the constitution, including the legalization of political parties. In August 2004, however, a demonstration in the capital turned violent and the government declared an emergency and arrested a large number said to be connected to the protest. Some of those arrested were prominent in the reform movement, including several members of the special Majlis. Most were released a few months later.

Maldives was badly hit by the Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, which killed 82 and caused substantial damage to Maldives tourism, housing, and fishing infrastructure. The U.S. provided $1.6 million in immediate relief assistance. Despite the disaster, the Government of the Maldives held parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for December 31, on January 22, 2005. Reform candidates performed strongly. Following the poll, President Gayoom announced plans to establish multiparty democracy within a year.

In June 2005, the members of the People's Majlis unanimously voted to legally recognize political parties. In order of registration the first parties were the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, the government's Dhivehi Raiyyethunge Party, the Adhaalath (Justice) Party, and the Islamic Democratic Party. More recently, a number of other parties formed, including the Social Liberal Party, the Maldivian National Congress, the Maldives Social Democratic Party, and the Republican Party. Some of these appear to have minimal public backing. Another political formation is the New Maldives group, but it has not registered as a party.

Throughout 2006, the opposition faced restrictions on freedom of assembly, and the government continued to arrest opposition activists. In March 2006, the government introduced a "Roadmap for Reform" and subsequently introduced several bills in parliament. In August 2007, voters decided via referendum that the Maldives' new constitution should provide for a presidential system of government (vice parliamentary). The special Majlis completed its work and the new constitution took effect in August 2008.

In accordance with the new constitution ratified by President Gayoom on August 7, 2008, the first round of presidential elections was held on October 10, 2008. As no candidate received 50% of the vote, a second round was held on October 29 between President Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed won with 54% of the vote. Members of parliament declared their political affiliations long before the October 2008 multiparty elections. Five opposition leaders were allowed to contest the presidential elections, and the principal opposition candidate was elected. President Nasheed is among the founders of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

President Nasheed, a former Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience," has promised to further strengthen democracy and increase media freedom. During his campaign, Nasheed pledged that if elected, he would hold early presidential elections in the middle of his term. Nasheed’s proposals, however, have encountered fierce resistance from opposition parties and he has been unable to advance legislation in the Majlis. Several of his cabinet ministers have faced “no confidence” votes; some have successfully been impeached and removed from office.

The previous government kept a tight rein on expressions of Islamic extremism. There has been a growing trend in Islamic conservatism since the advent of democracy and free speech.\

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Maldives follows a nonaligned policy and is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries. According to the Foreign Ministry, the country has a UN Mission in New York, embassies in the United States (the Ambassador to Washington is resident in New York), Sri Lanka, China, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, as well as diplomatic missions in Geneva and Brussels. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka maintain resident embassies in Male. Denmark, Norway, the U.K., Germany, Turkey, and Sweden have consular agencies in Male under the supervision of their embassies in Sri Lanka and India. The UNDP has a representative resident in Male, as do the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Like the United States, many countries have nonresident ambassadors accredited to the Maldives, most of them based in Sri Lanka or India. The Maldives is a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). In 2010, Maldives was elected to a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and in 2011 it will host the 17th annual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. President Nasheed's skilled rhetoric and his consensus-building among smaller island nations brought global attention to Maldives at the December 2009 United Nations climate change conference. In March 2010, Maldives hosted a donor forum that yielded $313 million in pledges to the country from multilateral development banks, the European Union, and many nations including the United States.

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