No fear of interim govt. being in power indefinitely – Ibra

24 December 2007
Report: Soodh

Male’ MP as well as the leader of MSLP, Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) has said that there is no fear of an interim government formed within the transition phase might remain in power for a long time.

He said in response to a question posed by Miadhu Daily that some politicians are saying that the leaders of interim governments rule for a long time without holding an election. Ibra said that there is no chance of things happening such a way if we decide an election day and assign the interim government to hold the election on the date scheduled.

“In the constitution, we can write that the interim government fails once if they cannot hold the elections within the given time. And we can make another arrangement for that” Ibra said.

In an interview given to Miadhu Daily last night, the former Attorney general Dr. Hassan Saeed said that they are talking of an interim government in order to hold a free and fair election. Dr. Hassan said that it was necessary for Maldives need a transitional period even though some countries don’t need it, as in Maldives, all the powers lie in the hand of a single person.

“Some other countries might not need a transitional arrangement because their Judiciary is independent and the government cannot use the security forces on their own interest. The state media could also be equally shared. There is a way to see corruption complaints. Commissioner of Elections is also not under government control” Dr. Hassan said said.

“President Maumoon is standing for the elections. All these institutions are under President Maumoon. So in this situation, I believe that we cannot hold free and fair elections” Dr. Hassan said.

Dr. Hassan Saeed said that he was satisfied with the works of the European Parliament delegation who visited Maldives last week. Hassan said that the purpose of this visit was to remind President Maumoon of the promise he made to hold a free and fair elections next year.

“They came here to remind President Maumoon of his promise and to hold him accountable for it, Robert Evans has said. He very clearly said that aid given by EU is dependent on the status of Democracy in a country. So, that means that if we don’t have a democracy as the people wants, we will not get aid” Dr. Hassan said.

A Press statement released by the European Parliament said that 6 months transitional arrangement is required before the elections are held in September.