THE Maldives’ top court on Sunday ended weeks of uncertainty by rejecting strongman President Abdulla Yameen’s controversial bid to annul last month’s election results, upholding his landslide defeat to the opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The five-judge Supreme Court bench unanimously ruled that Yameen had failed to prove his claim that the election was rigged and a fresh poll was necessary.
Yameen initially conceded defeat in the September 23 polls under international pressure. But he then filed an appeal this month, throwing the island nation into turmoil and attracting warnings from the United States and regional superpower India to respect the outcome. “After weeks of uncertainty, the Maldivian people can finally enjoy clarity regarding the outcome of the election,” said President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who swept September’s poll in an unexpected landslide victory.
Everyone knows that the case filed by Yameen was frivolous from the very beginning and based on conjecture and conspiracy theories. Yameen must be ready for a smooth transition of power. What is most important is that, Maldives independent Election Commission, through its lawyers, had argued his (Yameen’s) petition was based on false allegations and should be dismissed. Not only that, the Supreme Court bench last week refused to accept the testimony of three unnamed witnesses that Yameen’s lawyers said would prove the election was fixed.
We forget not yet the situation in 2013, when Yameen convinced the Supreme Court to nullify the first round of voting, which he was trailing to opposition candidate Mohamed Nasheed. A subsequent vote was then twice delayed, allowing Yameen time to forge alliances that helped him narrowly win a contested run-off. He has ruled with an iron fist ever since, crushing dissent and jailing or exiling all his major opponents.
It was not the end! In February, Yameen jailed the Chief Justice and another Supreme Court judge after accusing them of trying to topple him. At one stage, Yameen suspended the court, parliament and the Constitution and declared a state of emergency when legislators were about to impeach him. International media said several high-profile political prisoners including his estranged half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years until 2008, have been released from jail since his election defeat.
The developing countries those are fighting for democracy should take a lesson from the Maldives.
