Search

In Maldives, successive elections have shown that the MDP is still not in 'absolute majority' in electoral terms. The DRP cross-over in Parliament after the annulled polls, which alone gave the MDP combine a working majority in the House, may not tell the whole story.

It is anybody's guess why Maldives' Election Commission did not choose to move the Supreme Court, particularly when legal cases of the current nature has the potential to reset the poll-clock, for which there is no provision in the Constitution.

Without most people noticing it and anyone acknowledging it, either inside the country or outside, Maldives' new President Abdulla Yameen launched the nation's new 'foreign policy' at a quiet ceremony in capital Male on January 20, 2014.

The unresolved India-China border dispute brings China closer to the Indian Ocean in every political and geo-strategic calculation of nations like Maldives and Sri Lanka, even though they are not as close to both the 'Asian giants' as the rest of India's South Asian neighbours.

Maldives' Foreign Minister, Mohamed Asim said that the choice flowed from his nation’s India first policy.

In Maldives, despite a last-minute 'cancellation' of the third round of talks between the Government and the MDP leader of the combined Opposition, there is nothing to suggest that the current reconciliation process has derailed, irrecoverably.

In Maldives, with the People's Majlis, or Parliament, commencing its delayed inaugural session for the current year with the customary address by President Mohammed Wahid Hassan, even if in the midst of disturbances caused by Maldivian Democratic Party.

On specifics they may differ, but a common view seems to be slowly emerging on the imminent need for effecting reforms to the nation's judiciary among the divided polity in Maldives.

In an ambitious legislative move aimed at attracting big-time investments spread across the archipelago, the Maldivian Government of President Abdulla Yameen has got the Parliament to pass a new law for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Inside the Parliament, the Yameen camp continued to target India claiming that the bill criminalising the 'India Out' campaign was drafted by the BJP.

The MDP should put a stop to its political infighting and present a united front in the upcoming presidential poll.

With Solih throwing his hat into the ring for the second time, a two-faced problem emerges for India.

Nasheed ‘puts on hold’ much-hyped proposal even as Yameen moves away from ‘India Out’ campaign.

In the UNGA meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid, Maldivian President Solih made sure to cover both international and national issues i

Solih’s recent victory in the presidential primaries deals a blow to the Opposition candidates Nasheed and Yameen’s campaigns

For a democratic polity that is still in its infancy, Maldives has faced splits in major parties barring the ruling MDP and splintering alliances, whose aggregate result is to strengthen the hands of President Mohammed Nasheed.

After seemingly winning the earlier rounds in the ongoing political tug-of-war since the New Year commenced, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen seems to have got his political detractors on the wrong foot again,

Maldives President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik had indicated in a national address last week that he would transfer power on 11 November. Yet, the Supreme Court's observation may have thrown up an eminently avoidable possibility.

The Maldivian government has taken steps to curb the ‘India Out’ campaign, showcasing the strategic importance of India

It did not receive as much media attention as the one by predecessor Mohammed Nasheed a fortnight earlier in the host nation. Yet when President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik came calling at New Delhi he did make his points, loud and clear at corridors and quarters that mattered.

For a second occasion in almost as many weeks, former Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed hinted at a change of the country's leadership. Such reports will sound credible only if the MDP is able to muster two-thirds majority in Parliament.

The Maldivian domestic politics today is in constant flux as the presidential elections draw close

The recent three-presidential-candidate-meeting and their meaningful proposal to complete the poll process in time has brought back political pragmatism back to the nation's centre-table, where electoral expediency and excesses alone seemed to rule for an interim.

The recent presidential polls show the continuing stranglehold of 'coalition politics' in the contemporary Maldivian context. It became visible when Nasheed defeated incumbent Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the second round of the 2008 polls, after securing only 25 percent vote-share in the first round.

There is a need for all-party coordination committees at the island and atoll-levels, besides at the highest level, to ensure a smooth presidential polls on September 7. There is also a greater need for coordination between the police and the EC officials at all levels.

In Maldives, a ruling coalition member's decision to move an amendment to the 2008 Constitution, to fix an upper age-limit of 65 years for contesting presidential election, has landed President Abdulla Yameen in an unnecessary controversy.

As the affairs of the ruling party seem to be heading towards a political showdown, is Maldives descending into political chaos?

The need for a review of the pro-democracy constitutional scheme was felt during the interregnum that followed the exit of President Nasheed on Februa

In Maldives, the development following former President Nasheed seeking refuge in Indian Embassy after an arrest warrant from a local court has raised a number of issues -- legal, political and diplomatic. Presidential polls are due in the country in September this year.

In Maldives, the three-party ruling coalition, led by President Abdulla Yameen's Progressive Party of Maldives, has split on the very first day of the very first session of the People's Parliament, elected only in March.

As former President Abdulla Yameen is released from a four-year incarceration, his re-emergence into politics will have an impact on India-Maldives ti

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj undertook a two-day weekend visit to Maldives, setting the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow suit, but possibly based on the quick-changing domestic developments in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The question of the emergency-declaration by Maldives President Abdulla Yameen being a political ploy for the President if only to effect an across-the-board purge, needs even more convincing arguments than what former President Nasheed's MDP has now put forth.

Neither Yameen, nor his ministers have explained how getting eternally indebted to China would help in the economic independence of Maldives.

The immediate task on hand is for the MDP to stay united and face the 10 April local council elections and ensure a sweep well ahead of the presidenti