Political parties

Written by Ahmed Maajid

Towards the end of his second term as the first President of the USA, George Washington issued the famous Farewell Address, published in the September 19, 1796 issue of American Daily Advertiser. In his Address to the people of his nation, Washington warned them of the dangers of political parties, saying that the system was the first step in the division of a nation. He pointed at various negative consequences of partisan politics for a nation. However, his warnings were not heeded, and the USA adopted party system from the earliest times of its existence.

I respect George Washington very much and admire him too. However, I do not take him as my imam. I do not take him as a role model. Notwithstanding the fact that Washington was one of the greatest leaders and men that the world has seen, I can see more admirable figures from Islamic history. The four Rightly-Guided Caliphs of Islam and a number of leaders of the Islamic Ummah who came later, such as Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Noor al-Din Zangi, and Saladin are examples. These Muslim leaders were great in all sense—they were disciplined men who set shining moral examples not just as leaders but as wise, humble, and good human beings; they ruled their citizens in accord with the principles of justice, human rights, and the rule of law. They loved their people, and they spread the truth, and did not use the power entrusted to them for wrong ends. Hence, these are the leaders whom I take to be the perfect role models for Muslims of our age.

However, it is true that there are people among us who would not accept anyone except a Western leader to be an example worthy of following or even knowing about. I referred to the view of George Washington about political parties with the objective of showing such people that one of the greatest political leaders the West has produced was against partisan politics. Perhaps this might help them to see political parties for what they really are.

How did political party system come to the Maldives? Did the people ask for it? Not at all! As everything occurs in modern democracies, the decision was made only by the rich and the politically powerful elite. Influence from the West was obviously a strong factor. However, the decision was only that of the powerful, rich elite. The people were not consulted, and neither were their voices heard in any other way. Those who pressured the then President Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom to introduce political party system to the Maldives, foremost among them was Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, did not work for national interests. Rather, in shouting for political party system, Nasheed and his company had just one motive—to make it possible for them to stand against Maumoon as an officially accepted ‘body’, and thus to ultimately win power. How do we know that this was their motive is only a fair question. The answer is that we know their motive by carefully looking into what they said and did when came to power in 2008.

We have now had a taste of political parties. We elected a president voting for a party, and we elected a People’s Majlis, also on party lines. What are the results? Mohamed Nasheed from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won the presidential election, at the head of an Alliance of various parties. Divehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) was later handed over majority in the Majlis by the people. They have been the biggest political parties in the nation since the system was introduced. Did any of them give us any encouraging signs which can make us feel safe and content with partisan politics? From my observations, the answer to this question has appeared to be a big, emphatic NO.

Nasheed became president in 2008 NOT because the people voted for his party. In fact, in the first rounds of the election, Nasheed managed only to win 24.9 per cent of the votes, while former President Maumoon won some 40.3 per cent of the votes. A runoff followed, in which NOT Nasheed’s MDP, but an alliance of all political parties except Maumoon’s DRP contested. The alliance won by a narrow margin, taking 52 per cent of the votes. However, within 21 days of Nasheed’s presidency, he betrayed the other parties, and one by one, they left. Nasheed and his party betrayed the votes the people gave them thus, and then MDP became a menace against any Maldivian who was not a member. Some 40 new public corporations were created, with educationally and professionally unqualified MDP activists as board members receiving shocking amounts of wages for doing nothing. These corporations ate up the national budget, while they did not contribute anything to the nation in any manner. Nasheed and his party leaders continued to mock the people. For instance, Nasheed himself told, speaking in one of the islands here, that anyone who does not belong to his party would see his dark side if he comes requesting for anything. One of the parliamentarians of MDP said, in a gathering in Malé, that residential flats built by the government were especially for MDP members.

While MDP failed wretchedly in ruling the people, opposition parties did no great job either. The few of them which conducted any activities had to stand against Nasheed’s outrageous policies of nepotism, immorality, corruption, and mismanagement, and what we saw was a deep-felt social division all over the country. Visit any of the Maldivian islands, and you will see that the people, who used to stand as one community, loving each other, are now divided as literally enemies, over party lines. The division has done a deathblow to social harmony and progress. Only a handful of the people even understand what partisan politics is, and parties have succeeded only in undermining the solidarity of the nation.

Not only the solidarity of the nation, but moral values we held dear have also been included in the price package we paid for party system. Most of the times, leaders and activists of political parties are immoral people, who do not believe in any principles whether religious or social. Just visit any of the party gatherings, especially those of MDP, and you will see and hear that there is nothing they hesitate to say, nothing they hesitate to do. You will hear slander, defamation, obscenities, and much more. They lie shamelessly, threaten each other, and mock and ridicule each other as if there is no meaning to the phrase ‘human dignity’. They change sides for money, for positions and then try to justify their actions in a way that mocks the intelligence of the people. In short, the whole moral fabric of the society has been undermined because of political parties.

We spent millions out of the annual national budget on the activities of political parties. While we have some 15 of them registered, only 4 or 5 parties are seen conducting any political activities, and the rest just sit back, and issue a press release once or twice a year. Their members’ registries are never correct, with many of them having members without the latter even knowing it. What is the benefit for the nation? We are already suffocating due to a shockingly high budget deficit, and the country’s economy is on deathbed. Why do we have to pay millions out of our annual budget to these groups, which bring nothing good to the society?

What is the solution?

Can we undo the damage caused to this nation by partisan politics by strengthening the laws regulating party activities? Can we do it by enhancing awareness of the people about partisan politics? Can we do it by pressurizing parties to adhere to ‘democratic’ principles?

My answer is no. To my mind, there is only one solution. We have to wash our hands with this system. This nation has had it with political parties, and the sooner we get rid of them, the better it would be for our future.