:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Reforms, too little too late

By Ismail Saadiq 10th June 2004

According to the definition in MLD political manifesto, democracy is defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Adult suffrage plays an important role in democracy. In the name of forming a democratic government, different political parties throw their hats into the election ring. Every party issues its own election manifesto to influence the people in order to carry the laurels in the ensuing election battle. Besides, different parties entice the voters through election propaganda. Where educated people are in the majority and political consciousness is adequate, it is not very difficult for people to weigh the pros and cons of the manifesto of a particular party and to ascertain what is in the best interests of the people. But as the case in Maldives, where there is a dearth of education and political consciousness, and where people fail to understand the reality of the manifesto and are misled by wrong propaganda, by the incumbent government, they cast their ballots in favor of an individual whose ideals go contrary to the social interest and this is what is going to happen in the Maldives. Consequently, parties that go against the interests of the people are installed in power.

In the present "democratic" system, the right to cast a vote depends on age. People get the right of suffrage at the age of 21. This assumes that all persons attaining the age of 21 have an understanding of the basic problems of the people, but in reality many people above the age of 21 remain ignorant of these problems for want of political consciousness. So the right of suffrage should not be based on age. This right should be vested in all those who are educated and politically conscious. Conferring voting rights on the basis of age means that people may cast their ballots without proper understanding and knowledge, while many educated and politically conscious people are debarred from voting because of their age. This is the greatest lacuna of democracy. I think we should reduce the voting age to 18 in the Maldives. You can legally get married when you are 18 and obtain a driving license, but cannot vote for your leader who will in turn govern you. This makes no sense.

The second lacuna is that in the present system people have to hear lengthy, insubstantial lectures, (we had a glimpse last Wednesday night) which are also often misleading. Leaders have to canvass all and sundry to get votes. They have to placate thieves, dacoits and hypocrites because the latter command great voting power. That is why the present regime is the government of corrupt thugs, dacoits and hypocrites. The government cannot take action against those individuals because a government that curbs their nefarious activities cannot last indefinitely.

It is possible in a democratic government that the members or the elected representatives comprise more than fifty percent of the total number of candidates winning at the hustings while the total votes secured by their party may be less than fifty per cent. In such a condition the government is said to be of a majority party, but in reality it is the government of a particular small but powerful group. If such a group forms the next government the opinion of another party or other parties are not respected in the legislature. Though all "parties" participate in passing legislation, bills are passed according to the wishes of the President and his family members that are currently in the majority. When the present regime passes acts, that President often derives benefit from the enacted law while the people at large do not derive much benefit from it at all.

As the President forms the government, the independence of the public servants is also impaired. The members and friends of the President's family interfere with the work of the other senior executives and force them to tow the president’s line. Under duress work is done which benefits a particular person but harms the interests of the people at large. In our "democratic" system government officials cannot go against the wishes of the President as the former work under the direction of the cabinet members, which is headed by the President.

In Maldives even the judiciary cannot function independently as the President pressurizes judges and judicial officers. Thus judgments are sometimes delivered which strangulate justice.

Independence of the audit department, too, is indispensable for the proper functioning of the public exchequer. But owing to the pressure of the President, it often fails to act. For want of proper auditing, public funds are squandered and misused. Consequently nation-building activity is not carried out properly. A government is to govern and serve the people, but it is not possible to govern in the democratic system, for who is there to be governed? The public is placated in order to secure votes which makes the rulers unfit to rule. And the rulers are themselves incompetent, immoral, hypocritical exploiters or how else would they get elected? They take recourse to devious strategies and the power of money. That is why there is no one to provide worthy leadership. And as far as the question of the people is concerned, that is meaningless in a democracy. In our current system the President and the leaders serve themselves in all possible ways.

Thus, it is crystal clear that the democratic form of government is riddled with lacunae. Without removing them it is impossible to properly run the administration of a country.

Needed democratic reforms

Now let us discuss some reforms to our democracy. Democracy takes ages to succeed in countries where people are illiterate, immoral, or backward. Countries like England, the U.S.A. and may be France are suitable for democracy, but even these countries need to introduce some reforms from time to time. But the difference between other democracies and our "dhimakrathee" system is we are told what we need and delivered only what the President feel is suitable for the majority of the people in Maldives.

First, legislators in the atolls and in Male' should be elected on the recommendations of the political parties and people at large. At the time of electing representatives the people and the parties should pay heed to their education, moral standard and sacrifice for the society etc. If the representatives are elected keeping in view these factors, they will not be guided by party interests but by collective interests. In their minds the interests of the entire population and society will dominate, and not any family interests. They will be able to enact laws keeping in mind the problems of all and sundry, thereby accelerating the speed of social reconstruction. Their impartial service will bring happiness to all.

The voting rights should be vested in educated persons who have political consciousness and awareness of people’s problems. Age should not be a bar to voting right. If illiterate people are given voting rights there is the possibility of anti-social and incompetent representatives being elected. This is going to take time, but we have to consider these points as the days pass by.

To provide a fearless and independent ambience to the administration, the present government employees should be kept free from pressures from the President and his cronies. The elected members should confine itself to legislation, the passage and passing of the budget, the implementation of its plans and policies, security etc. The power of ministers should remain confined to the parliament and they should not poke their nose into the workings of other public corporations like Dhiraagu, STO or Stelco. The chief justice should not be under the president or the now proposed prime minister but should act independently as the judicial head. All the judges should work under the chief justice. Free from cabinet pressures, where every court will serve the people well.

In the present system the judiciary functions under the President, and pressure from the President and his family members impair its independent functioning. To remove this defect and to ensure impartial justice, the judiciary should have the right to function independently. In no case should the chief justice be treated as inferior to the president. Only moralists and honest persons should be installed on the hallowed seat of justice. If people fail to keep this issue under their close scrutiny, injustice will take the place of justice.

Finally, for the proper utilization of the public exchequer, the independence of the audit department too, is a must. The auditor general should be independent of the scepter of the president. Only an independent audit department can keep proper accounts of every department. We must now demand the President to come out and show his personal financial records and open the public income and expenditure for scrutiny. We need to address this point before we accept to go along with President Gayyoom and adopt these reforms for which we have been crying for two decades.

Thus, there should be four compartments in a properly constituted democracy in the Maldives - legislature, executive, judiciary and public exchequer - and all of them should be independent from one another. But in such a situation there is still the possibility of injustice and exploitation. So to supervise or monitor the function of all these compartments, the benevolent dictatorship of the board of Islamic scholars, elder statesmen and retired public servants, is required so that spirituality and morality will reign supreme. The ascendancy of spirituality and morality will sound the death-knell of parliamentary democracy in Maldives.