A newly formed opposition alliance said Tuesday it will seek to oust the Maldives’s president and form an interim government to ensure elections scheduled in 2018 will be free and fair. An interim administration is crucial to restore democracy and to “protect the many people being persecuted,” Ahmed Naseem, a member of the so-called shadow government in exile. “The primary objective of the Maldives United Opposition is to strive for the removal from power of the dictator in Maldives, through all legal and lawful means, and pave the way for a transitional administration as soon as possible,” Naseem said.
The Indian Ocean tourist destination has a history of being governed by autocratic rulers, and many opponents of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom are in exile or have been jailed. The opposition says all of the country’s independent institutions, such as the police, judiciary and bureaucracy, are under Gayoom’s control.
He also has filled the elections commission with his activists, which undermines its independence and risks the trustworthiness of the electronic voting he wants to introduce, according to Naseem. The government of the Maldives had no immediate comment. The opposition parties formed their alliance earlier this month in Britain, where its leaders are exiled.
Full Article: Maldives opposition wants election under interim gov’t.
