Q&A: Elections Commission Chairperson Fuwad Thowfeek
24 Aug 2013, 8:52 PM
Leah Malone
The 2013 Maldives presidential election is set to occur amid the political polarisation and institutional mistrust that has escalated since the controversial transition of power in February 2012.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintain that a coup d’etat had been orchestrated by loyalists to the former 30-year autocratic ruler President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and led by mutinying police and military officers. This was followed by the security services’ crackdown on demonstrators, months of MDP protests, and demands for early elections, as well as fears the judiciary may prevent Nasheed from contesting.
With the Maldives’ presidential election taking place on September 7, there is considerable national and international pressure on the Elections Commission to deliver. Minivan News discusses some of these key elections issues with Fuwad Thowfeek, Chairperson of the country’s first independent Elections Commission (EC), established on November 24, 2009.
The role of security services…
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