Gayoom for presidency in 2013

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

DRP’s next national congress is the most important event a lot of people are waiting for. The Congress will elect party leader, by default its presidential candidate as well and other key officials for a new term. They will be given an arduous task to fulfill, a formidable target to reach. That is winning the presidential election in 2013. This would mean election of the leader of DRP will be the most crucial issue of the Congress.

DRP was a creation of former President Gayoom who is also the first elected leader of the party. DRP is now the main opposition following the defeat of President Gayoom in the first multi-party presidential election held in October 2008 under the new Constitution. President Mohamed Nasheed, the leader and key founding member of the ruling MDP won the election and made history by becoming the first democratically elected President of Maldives.

Some people thought former President Gayoom would leave politics and his party after losing the last election. In effect, most people still do not understand how Mr. Gayoom could have claimed for the right of seeking a further term of office after he has served 6 five year terms. But the new independent Election Commission did not find difficult to understand what is stipulated in the new Constitution, that no person can serve as president for more than 2 five year terms under the new Constitution. Thus the Commission ruled Gayoom has the Constitutional right to serve another 2 terms.

Many think Gayoom would finally depart politics after the next Congress hands over power to a new leader. The law on the immunities and benefits to be provided to a former president has also finally been enacted after Gayoom waiting long for it. Thanks for the generous package it provided.

In a recent general meeting of DRP, Gayoom has hinted on rejuvenating the party and handing over helm to Deputy Thasmeen. Gayoom must be grateful to Thasmeen for donating magnanimous financial support to the party in times of need. Though Gayoom has hinted so, there are also rumors of widening rifts in the party over leadership. According to some sources, there are several powerful members who are not happy to see Thasmeen becoming leader. There are also many top members who favor Thasmeen and who want DRP to recapture its past glory under him. Some old guards and faithful however feel only Gayoom can lead DRP to power. This feeling has grown stronger since Gayoom was named personality of the year in a DhiFM survey.

People close to the former president reveal more sensational news that the former President is more than confident of winning the big post again. According to insiders, there is a group who are certain that Gayoom is the only leader capable of ousting President Nasheed in 2013. Thus DRP seems to have been buried in a deep power struggle and many among them believe only Gayoom can save the party from deep divide. At the same time some prominent members are openly campaigning for change. They feel Gayoom had enough and there is no future for DRP if he remained leader.

There is also another interesting story about a family quarrel over Gayoom successor. Reliable sources say most members of the family want Gayooms youngest son Ghassan to succeed him, while few of them strongly support his eldest daughter Dunya to continue the dynastic succession. Former President Gayoom has strongly advocated for a woman president in the Maldives.

Whether some of these stories are true or not, it has become increasingly difficult to believe that Gayoom will give up power when he feels there is growing support for him. There are rumors that some faction of DRP has endorsed Gayoom as DRP leader for life. This story is spreading fast and it seems there are powerful attempts to endorse Gayoom as Leader for Life in the upcoming DRP Congress in February this year. If this happens Gayoom will automatically be DRP presidential candidate in 2013. In a very recent TV interview, when Gayoom was asked if he would contest in 2013, he said he will not comment.

But winning the election does not appear to be as easy as the popularity survey. Though the ruling MDP has pursued some unpopular policies and programs which have seemingly reduced their popularity for the time being, the sustainability and positive outcome of these programs is likely to muster much support for President Nasheed eventually. MDP Government will use all their tactics and energies to win a second term.

Reader Comments

  1. HeHeHeHeHe. We don’t want to give a narrow chance to former dictator to become our President.It is not allowed under the new constitution. It is those who Gayyoom has appointed,to the Election Commission, beleive that he can contest for Presidency. The “BOYS” can pass a ruling allowing him to contest again. But definitely not present Commission. Specially Fuad Thaufeeq, the Chair of the Commission and ex-husband of Ms. Fathimath Riza.Remember we have had a time where MILKMAID is banned in our country.

    He have served us for 30 years unconstitutionaly (6 terms of 5 years). So under the new constitution he will not be able to stand for the election.We have thrown him out of the power.Not again dear.We have sufered enough under your (dictatorship)rule.Enough is enough.

    Posted by Faiza | January 7, 2010, 10:17 am

  2. WE DONT WANT A DICTATORSHIP ANYMORE HERE IN MALDIVES.I THINK MR GAYYOOM WILL BE ALLOWED TO CONTEST FOR PRESIDENCY IN BANGLADESH FOR LETTING OVER 100000 BANGLADHESHIS WORK HERE LEGALLY AND ILLEGALLY DRAINING OUR DOLLARS AND ALSO LETTING HIS SON-IN-LAW HAVE SHARES IN 13 OF OUR RESORTS. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

    Posted by gaxim,addu | January 7, 2010, 6:47 pm

  3. I think Gayyoom should fight for DRP leadership. If not, one of his kids should be the DRP leader. They will be the easiest for Anni to defeat. Anyone else will make things difficult for Anni.

    Posted by Robin Hood | January 8, 2010, 9:12 am

  4. Hell with the dictator. No way the maldivians are ever goin to elect him as the president AGAIN.

    Posted by TrueMaldivianFromKelei | January 8, 2010, 5:39 pm

  5. who isnt a dictator when appointed in higher positions,even with our new president he has already started the tyranny which maumoon left…..speaking abt that commission n fuad thaufeeq,hes one of the hell ball who swings to the both sides like the former commissioner mohamed ibrahim (hell with them) and MR.GAXIM… let me remind u that it wasnt gayyom who led all the Bangladeshi here ,it was ppl like u who cldnt lift ur own ***** from one place to another and ppl like u who are ashamed to go throw ur own ****… so be thankful to the bang boys for cleaning up ur **** and making ur women happy ……..he he he

    Posted by the wanna be dictator | January 8, 2010, 9:46 pm

  6. Great article. I would like to see more articles like this more often in miadhu. There is noway for gayyoom or even thasmeen to become the leader in this nation.

    Posted by fhd | January 9, 2010, 11:58 am

  7. Let Maumoon run for presidency. But he doesn’t have a chance to win the election. Just to save party unity, if Maumoon came on the way to stop the educated youth (such as Dr. Mausoom, Thasmeen Ali, Hamdhoon Hameed, Ghassan Maumoon,Dr. Ibrahim Hassan…etc),then most of the educated who signed up for DRP due to educated youth will defect to other parties (mainly to MDP), giving MDP a clear majority in the parliament as well as a clear win in 2013.
    Sources close to Maumoon told me that he was to step down from the post of Zaeemu in the DRP congress. But it seems the man is too hungry for power and that 30 years is not enough to lead the country.
    Its time for Maumoon to focus on Hereafter and do useful things like contributing to build Mosques,…etc. But, his reluctance to attend Friday Prayer (which is Wajib for all Muslim men) indicates his intentions in this life and his “love” for Islam.
    He has also rejected the teachings of Quran several times, do not believe in the second coming of Isa Alaihiy Salaam either…does not believe that Dhajjal will come…etc.

    Posted by ablho | January 10, 2010, 7:18 pm

  8. People of Maldives will elect qayyoom as a next president if Qayoom is elected as DRP leader. But I dont think Qayoom will be interested to contest for anothe r term. Anyway, we will not not allow this country be either under christian missionaries or wahabbizm. We will save this drowning nation. Its our religous duty.

    Posted by faal | January 12, 2010, 2:00 pm

  9. FAAL.. Maumoon is the leader of the Christian missionary in Maldives and he has received the honour of GCMG (Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George) and the first propagation centre of Christianity was Theemuge.

    Maumoon is someone who does not believe in Quran and claims that gold is Halal for Muslim men, wearing Hijab is optional for Muslim women, refuses the second coming of Isa (Alaiyhiy Salaam), does not believe that Dhajjal will appear and Gog and Magog (Yajooj and Maujooj),…etc. His belief is farthest from Islam and leans more towards Christianity.
    Yet people like you see Maumoon as a Saint and Saviour for Islam. But the fact of the matter is, he promotes Maumoonism – what he says is truth and there is no Quran or Sunnah for him.

    Posted by ablho | January 13, 2010, 7:20 pm

  10. I will be happy if Maumoon becomes the DRP Zaeemu. Only then he can be humiliated once again by Anni. As if the humiliation he faced due to his defeat was not enough.

    Posted by Alif Laila | January 14, 2010, 12:28 pm

  11. Believe or not Maumoon is still the most popular leader in this country. he was the most favorable leader among those six in first round of last election. no one can deny this. the truth is Anni is an activist he only knows manage street fight and strikes he has no knowledge to govern the country at all.

    Posted by Hussain Rasheed Ahmed | January 18, 2010, 2:24 pm

  12. Hussain, it is going to be fun to see Maumoon elected as the leader of DRP again. I wish, Maumoon gets elected or rather selected by DRP because DRP is more like a family business. Maumoon is to hold throne again and next one is Maumoon and the after is going to be Maumoon too. It is funny though,having run for presidency in 2008, claiming he has not been president under the new constitution and now taking money only eligible for a president who has completed two terms under the very constitution he claimed he has never been president. The hypocracy speaks volume I guess. And there are people who would just accept defeat at some point in time and does not believe that he or she must be the winner in presidential elections to all the way to sports and poetry amongst other things.
    When Mr Maumoon lost in 2008, his own party (DRP)’s election commissioner Mr Mohamed Ibrahim is sidelined because Mohamed Ibrahim made Maumoon to lose? That also in the fairest election Maldives had ever seen?

    Now Mr Yamin is threatening DRP with only 7 members in parliament representing PA because his 7 votes will decide which way issues will end? Of course, Yamin is not going to take sides with MDP. Yet Yamin of PA is the most influencial person for DRP’s internal politics? I would like to have a good laugh thinking about all this. O people, think think think and support Maumoon if tyranny is what we need or if dictator is preferred to freedom.

    Posted by ablho | January 22, 2010, 2:13 am

  13. Sorry abt that comment , I beleive Anni has done a good job in the past year comparing to Maumoons 30 years. What a fool i was to accuse him of arranging street fights. Sorry abt my comment

    Posted by HUSSAIN RASHEED AHMED | January 24, 2010, 8:47 pm

  14. Thanks for you all for your comments. This is not a right action and a right time to write articles as it results the afflictions as rain drops to your home roofs. Are we in a state of abyss of ignorance??? America is the mother proponent of capitalism in name of democracy; Russia is the proponent of the Socialism in name of democracy. China promotes the communism in name of democracy. If democracy is defined as people or public rule, the democratic states have been given birth as republics. Amin and his followers have changed the Maldives as republic state. Nasir have restored it, Maumoon have conserved the system, and presently Naseed is continuing is a so called modernize system. Something they did or left may have caused a particular result. The thing we have to do is to analyze the scenarios more than now we do. We have to determine the strengths, weakness we have and opportunities and threats we have. And we have to have good plan on a realistic time frame. Even in current regime there are many concerns that are to be taken into reconsideration. In all most every government they review their policies and determines whether it befits of not.
    Moreover, we don’t have to rely on our ideas rather than facts. And the facts also should something be reliable. Also if we week a judge (Author) from one of two or more contradictory parties, we will not seek justice any more…….. Lets learn being a Maldivian that every one is innocent until proven guilty……..

    Posted by National Voice | January 29, 2010, 1:46 pm

  15. if only the blind ppl can see whats happening now……
    we have nothing and ppl are getting more dictatod now coz most feel ashamed of the change that has come now….. yeah for ppl who use the madicine they use mite be good coz u are also using the same but for us who dont want it… for the ppl who love peace who want freedom now its more like jailed in our own country even anni dont follow the rules which is made…..

    Posted by ahmed | February 4, 2010, 2:19 pm

  16. No.. i changed my mind again.. maumoon is great

    Posted by HUSSAIN RASHEED AHMED | February 18, 2010, 10:08 pm

  17. Mamun was the greatest president in the history of Maldives. He developed the country and secured its identity as a Muslim country.
    When he (unfortunately) did not win in the 2008 presidential election, look what happened to the country and its peace and harmony during Nasheed’s period.
    If you really love Maldives, you should bring Mamun back to power.
    The rule “President should serve only for two terms of 5 years” has no basis in Qur’aan and Hadees.
    Being a country of Islamic faith, that rule should be amended. And a president should be able to serve the country as long as he plays fair in the election and does his job.

    Posted by Anwar Suhail | July 6, 2010, 9:16 pm

  18. Yea, maumoon is great.. It is not him that makes things worse at the time he was president.. the parliment or the people who work with him was not good enough.. how can he dive under every single thing..it is not possible..
    now the president who u ppl calling, is one big fellow who did everything worse. still he is not fulfilled. now using gangs and blaming oppsitions.. i don’t know what’s wrong with Nasheed. DRAMA QUEEN….

    Posted by someone... | July 17, 2010, 11:07 am

  19. We do not want to go to past and repeat the same game.

    Posted by Mohamaadhi - Male' | September 22, 2011, 2:26 pm

  20. It doesn’t matter who gets elected .. it boils down to the fact that we have no leaders who really love the beautiful nation, Rep. of Maldives. Everyone is so greedy.. trying to fill their pockets in the shortest of time.

    Posted by DevotedMaldivian | February 13, 2012, 8:43 am

  21. I would like to bring to the attention of all the maldivian people…what simply seems to have escaped their rational understanding: it is under the regime of Mr Gayoom that Male was built without any cityplaning, hence has become a cubic maze and a nightmare to live in, also an estimate 30′000 people’s lives are being destroyed by their drug addiction. People don’t turn addicts over night. How could tons of drugs enter Male? A drug addict is forced to be a criminal. Every drug addict’s mother is bound to suffer from depression, the rest of the family, too. So that is our private life! How could politics, THE PUBLIC LIFE then possibly function? Why don’t we agree that our nation is doomed like were the native indians. In the process of being destroyed by the greed of a few and the blindness and fear of many? WHO is responisible for this CHAOS?

    Posted by Sabina Manik | February 16, 2012, 8:10 pm

  22. Assalamu aliakum every one.
    Before you decide dictatorship or democracy analyze carefully who did what for the country. During the period did the country prosper or thrown in turmoil and disturbance. Were Islamic values respected or insulted? According to Islamic principles “Khilafah is the ultimate not democracy. Please analyze, think twice them comment.

    Posted by Anwar | May 11, 2012, 5:22 am

  23. Dear Maldivian people, we stay many time in maldives and I think have Gayoom as president again is not a good idea. He is a dictator and is not a good man for you country.
    The Maldives must look in front with new people and new idea and not have Gayoom or Gasim in the government…

    Posted by italian guest | September 8, 2012, 8:17 pm

  24. wow !! what a stupid idea to get gayoom back to power !! he has stolen the money of maldives and stored else where for his future genrations . He ruled maldives rather ruined to rubble …for 30 yrs.he is indirectly promoting GMR to take over the country . He recently met GMR the chairman of GMR group where he was given 5 million us dollars as party fund ..where is the money ??
    Dont do the mistake again

    Posted by baku | October 1, 2012, 1:14 pm

Post a comment

 characters available



The opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and commenters and do not necessarily represent the views of Miadhu News Daily. We do not take responsibility for the opinions, facts, or claims presented by individual authors or commenters, and reserve the right to moderate or delete inappropriate comments.

Miadhu Opinion Poll
  • Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.