US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO107

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
NSC FOR DORMANDY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, AEMR, MV, Maldives 
SUBJECT: MALDIVES:  DESPITE DISASTER, PARLIAMENTARY 
ELECTIONS ON FOR JANUARY 22 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 93 
 
     B. 04 COLOMBO 2044 
 
Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission.  1.4 (b,d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Parliamentary elections, postponed from 
December 31 after the tsunami that hit Maldives December 26, 
have been rescheduled for January 22.  The government's 
desire to go ahead is understandable in order to avoid 
charges that it is using the tsunami to put off an election 
it does not want.  Inevitably, however, it will now be 
accused of trying to rush through an election while 
Maldivians remain focused on tsunami recovery.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) DISMISSAL OF CHARGES:  On December 31, 2004, 
President Abdul Maumoon Gayoom "ordered the withdrawal of 
charges of high treason and charges of public disorder 
offences following the incident of August 12-13 this year," 
according to a statement on the President's official website. 
 It went on to characterize the President's motivation for 
calling for the dismissal of charges as "to promote and 
sustain that (community) spirit" evident in the wake of the 
December 26 tsunami that struck the island nation (Ref A). 
In a January 1 conversation, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Chief 
Government Spokesman, told poloff that all charges, except 
for two, had been dismissed.  No one remained under detention 
or was prohibited from traveling out of Maldives.  Shaheed 
said the government was only pursuing two cases stemming from 
the August 12-13 civil unrest:  one against the individual 
alleged to have stabbed a National Security Service (NSS) 
officer on August 13 and a second against an individual 
alleged to have been found with literature related to killing 
President Gayoom.  Both of these men remain in jail pending 
their trials. 
 
3.  (C) COMMITMENT TO ELECTIONS:  Parliamentary elections, 
which had been scheduled for December 31, 2004, were 
obviously postponed in the aftermath of the tsunami.  The 
Government of the Republic of Maldives (GORM) clearly felt 
that it would be impossible to organize such an undertaking 
when the country's attention and resources were solely 
focused on aiding citizens still reeling from the disaster. 
Shaheed shared such sentiments with poloff during the same 
January 1 conversation, noting that the elections had been 
tentatively scheduled for January 22.  Explaining the 
reasoning behind choosing the date, he said the Constitution 
required the new Majlis (Parliament) to be selected at least 
one month prior to the end -- February 23, 2005 -- of the 
current Majlis' term. 
 
4.  (C) In a follow-up January 12 conversation, Shaheed told 
poloff that, in his view, the GORM would try to honor the 
January 22 date for elections.  He felt the government would 
lose credibility if the elections were further postponed.  He 
also felt that, given the immense rehabilitation and 
reconstruction challenge facing the country, it would be 
preferable to work with a Majlis with a new mandate for 
decision-making. 
 
5.  (C) Poloff spoke with Ibrahim Rashad, the Elections 
Commissioner on January 13, who confirmed that the government 
intended to hold elections on January 22, with hopes of 
declaring the results by January 26.  He was not sure, 
however, how the government would manage the logistics given 
the realignment of transportation resources since the 
tsunami.  He admitted that organizing voting stations to 
 
SIPDIS 
accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be a 
challenge but said, "the Constitution doesn't allow for 
another date."  (Note:  Candidates are elected on an 
atoll-wide basis.  From poloff's impression during a January 
2-4 visit to Maldives, it seemed that many IDPs were on 
islands within their home atoll, thus getting them the proper 
ballot may be one of the Election Commissioner's smaller 
challenges.  End Note.)  When asked about former detainees 
who may have wanted to run for a Majlis seat but were 
allegedly barred from submitting their paperwork, Rashad said 
that the candidate slate remained the same as the original 
one intended for the December 31 vote.  He said that no more 
people would be able to submit candidacy papers and noted 
that no one had tried to do so.  Rashad stated that 
Commonwealth and South Asia Association for Regional 
Cooperation (SAARC) election observing teams would return for 
the January 22 vote (Ref B). 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  Given the relief effort which the GORM 
faces, it seems that there is hardly time to run an election, 
let alone to consider whether the atmosphere for it is free 
or fair.  To postpone the elections beyond the January 22 
date, however, would invite further speculation about the 
validity of the election or charges that the government was 
using the tsunami to avoid a vote it does not want.  The 
government recognizes what would result from a twice-delayed 
election and is eager to avoid such criticism.  Despite the 
GORM's commitment to selecting the new Majlis, it still is 
not clear, however, just how the government will manage to 
actually pull off the logistical challenge of the election 
with so many resources otherwise engaged.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
LUNSTEAD