A daily roundup of headlines made by the candidates, running mates and their surrogates on the campaign trail.
September 7
As advertised, President Abdulla Yameen was expected to unveil his manifesto or make grand pledges at the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives “mega rally” in the capital Friday night, dubbed ‘Bridge Salhi’ (roughly ‘Bridge is Cool’). But aside from a pledge to grant more entrepreneurship loans, Yameen used his hour-long speech to assail exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed, mostly over the 25-year lease of the international airport to GMR.
He claimed credit for eviction of the GMR-led consortium by his predecessor in December 2012, accusing former coalition partners of opposing the termination of the concession agreement. The Indian firm was paid US$271 million as compensation in November 2016.
Yameen slammed threats of sanctions by the West as “an act of imperialism” and an attempt to violate his rights as a candidate and unduly influence the September 23 presidential election. While he was “sad and hesitant” because of the threats, he would not bow down to pressure as Maldivians do not deserve to “always remain in imperial enslavement.”
He blamed the opposition for inviting foreign powers to undermine Maldivian independence and sovereignty.
The president made waves with an apparent admission of barring his main rivals from contesting. MPs Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ‘Ibu’ and Faisal Naseem have him to thank for securing the joint opposition ticket, Yameen said.
“Why does Ibu express gratitude to me? Because I excluded president [Mohamed] Nasheed. I excluded [Jumhooree Party leader] Gasim Ibrahim. That’s why those two [Ibu and Faisal] got the ticket.”
In the face of widespread condemnation over the jailing of politicians and the reversal of democratic gains, Yameen previously maintained that there are no political prisoners in the Maldives.
Opposition candidate Ibu covered 100 out of 186 inhabited islands with his visit to Baarah in the northernmost Haa Alif atoll. He was escorted into the island by a parade of men carrying mock wooden guns, conch shells and drums. They followed instructions bellowed out by a commander.
On most islands, Ibu was greeted by men and women performing traditional dances and long rows of supporters waiting to shake his hand.
The veteran lawmaker visited all inhabited islands of Haa Alif during the past three days. As running mate Faisal Naseem has separately visited 76 islands, Ibu noted that there are only 11 islands left for the pair to visit before polling day in just over two weeks.
On Baarah, he repeated the pledge to create a ministry to protect heritage sites and to empower island councils with the means to raise finances. “The island’s council will determine the island’s affairs.”
Referring to the brutal quashing of civil unrest in the northern atolls 75 years ago, the lawmaker said Maldivians do not want to see history repeat itself. The upcoming vote would bring an end to tyranny, he said.