Comment: The Fallacy of the Coalition Government in the Maldives

Not much has changed since the country ditched the sultanate system in favour of a republic in 1968 – a move aimed more at consolidating the power of one man than changing the citizenry’s political philosophy. Indeed, it was the continuation of the sultanate by another name, and probably conferred even more power on the newly titled president than the outgoing sultan.

Forty years later, in 2008, when the country once again underwent a political awakening with a new constitution allowing for political parties, independent institutions and newly guaranteed freedoms for the individual, there was much hope and expectation that, finally, the people will reign supreme in the country’s political arena.

Yet, in the aftermath of two cycles of presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections under the new constitution, a recurring reality clearly reveals that there is always one man above all else who demands and commands absolute fidelity from the lesser beings who are expected to – and d0 – serve his every bidding (constitutional limitations notwithstanding.)  And that is the person who occupies the seat of the presidency.