Comment: Maldives’ solution lies on the negotiation table

As I have written previously, the events that unfolded on February 7, 2012, were surely among the darkest and most regrettable in Maldivian history.

Whether we like it or not, the government is now in the hands of elements that belonged to the three decade-long authoritarian rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. President Waheed may be the face of this government, but however you look into it, you’ll see that he has neither the say nor the control of a president as outlined under the Maldivian constitution.

Instead, the likes of Yaameen (half brother of former President Gayoom), Gasim Ibrahim and Dr Hassan Saeed have assumed control of what was meant to be a government working to implement the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) manifesto, a document which the majority of the people had voted for in the presidential elections of 2008.

Regardless of the names on the ballot papers that helped secure the election for the MDP, the Maldivian people voted for the policy plans of the winning candidate, not for the face of the candidate or his running mate. This is a general political fact that revolves around any presidential election.