With almost a month left until parliamentary elections in the Maldives: the leader of the country’s opposition coalition, Mr Abdulla Yameen, was placed in detention by a court order.
Mr Abdulla Yameen had lost a bid for re-election for the presidency of the island republic in September 2018, and had since taken leadership of his party; the Progressive Party of Maldives, and the People’s National Congress.
The case against him lodged by the Prosecutor General’s office alleges that he was involved in a massive embezzlement and money-laundering scandal involving the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). Earlier in February, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC); a government corruption watchdog; published a report about their investigation into the scandal which named 155 individuals, with Mr Yameen being one name among them.
Only Mr Yameen has been charged by the Prosecutor General’s office since the publication of the report. None of the other individuals have received any attention regarding their possible involvement in the scandal. Among the 155 named by the report are several individuals closely associated with the ruling MDP.
The Prosecutor General had requested that Mr Yameen be placed in detention for the duration of the trial, claiming that he may otherwise tamper with the evidence.
During his presidency, Mr Yameen had received a sum of USD$1 million in his private bank account. He had then placed this amount in escrow with the ACC for the purposes of investigating the matter. The Prosecutor General’s office alleges that the amount placed in escrow was different from the amount received by the former president in his bank account.
Mr Hussain Shameem, a former Prosecutor General, had commented that Mr Yameen’s detention was unconstitutional and unnecessary. He claimed that if Mr Yameen was a flight risk, confiscating his passport would have been sufficient. He further commented that fears of tampering the documentary evidence against Mr Yameen do not justify his detention.
According to sources, judges have been receiving threats from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The MDP are projected to win a majority of the seats in the Maldivian Parliament, the Majlis, during the elections this April which would then grant them the authority to dismiss any judges who, as is alleged, do not cooperate.
The MDP had previously engaged in intimidation tactics. Mr Yameen, then the leader of the People’s Alliance (PA), had been arrested on false charges and kept in detention for days without trial during the MDP leadership. The courts had ordered Mr Yameen to be freed and compensated for his trouble.
It is claimed by observers that Mr Yameen’s arrest has less to do with stamping out corruption and more to do with weakening in the opposition in face of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The future of the Maldives’ nascent democracy looks bleak. The elected president, Mr Ibrahim Solih, serves as little more than an aloof figurehead as paths are being cleared for what is only being termed “Agenda 19”. It is the primary slogan being used by parliamentary candidates for the MDP, and it is unclear, at this point, as to what this slogan refers. As was also attempted during their administration of 2008 – 2012, we are seeing another period in the Maldives when democratic institutions are being manipulated and abused by elites of the MDP. We are also seeing the parliamentary opposition be meticulously dismantled and crippled.
It remains to be seen how the Maldives will fare under the unsteady hand of its new leadership.
