:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

How Maumoon Gayyoom plays a Psychological game in the Presidential election

By Citizen’s of Tomorrow - Saturday, 21st August 2004

Isn’t it surprising that in every election Maumoon gets more than 90 percent of votes. And it is even more surprising that despite we find more people who don’t like him.

The geography of Maldives has been a big advantage to Maumoon. The small island communities have been an easy tool for Gayyoom to play an evil game. We Maldives are scattered into low lying islands. In these islands only few thousands people live, some island even less than a thousand. The head of the island is a Katheeb who will be from most influential family of the island. He would know most of the islanders by name and he would even know their habits and attitudes. Prior to presidential election government divide ministers into different groups. One will be appointed specifically for Atolls. Ministers will be divided into government offices depending on their ministry. One will be appointed for Resorts. And there will be ministers who will be appointed to different sectors. Thus by creating more concentration onto each sector of people

Most of the ordinary Maldivians live in atolls and therefore the government knows it’s an easy work. Since these people are not well educated and economically incapable of making independent choices. Their decision will be mostly influenced by the dependency towards everyday life, and there is less confidence to their basic rights. So when the campaign begins the Minister of Atoll Mr. Hameed teach the individual Katheeb's about the game plan and will warn if they don’t make results they will be fired. Most of these Katheeb’s are uneducated and they don’t have confidence in finding any possible jobs. Therefore they are forced to do everything possible in order to protect their jobs. So the task is to educate and warn the islanders that they want only Maumoon Gayyoom to be elected. They don’t need any crosses. Due to their familiarity of the people in island they would know who will go against their saying. They will mark these people in advance and will do everything so that they cannot approach in a smart way to the vote box. The voting begins. The Katheeb and his assistants will be staying near the box and will not let anybody to write a cross. And it is even a shame that in most of the island the sign will be already marked before given to the people to put into the box. This is very common in all islands. The people who don’t like Gayyoom stay at home because they know that even if they go they cannot make much difference. Few people go and inform the police but they always shows up at the end of the voting day and will do nothing.

It happens in resorts as well where most of the people work. The owners are forced by the authority that they need only correct signs. The owners know that if they don’t cooperate they will be out of business and they cannot take such a risk. They inform and request all their employees to cooperate. And the helpless employees simply have to accept such inhuman requests. Sometimes in some resorts the correct sign has to be shown to the owner who will be standing near the box before putting it in.

This happens everywhere where. In offices, in every corner people are requested and asked to do so. They are so dependent they cannot do their choices. But they do the choices of their bosses, their Katheeb's, and their families and so on.

Gayyoom cast the vote into every island, into every resort so that the Katheeb's, the owners are reminded of their accomplishments. And people are reminded of the betrayals. At the end Gayyoom laugh at us thinking how easy it is to play with our minds. They make grand celebrations. The Katheeb's who don’t do better are fired. The business guys who don’t cooperate well are put on strict tightness, and this leads them to find the culprits and fire them from their resorts, companies etc.

I bet that if there is a fair election, if there is two people standing for the election with a proper campaign Gayyoom will not get 30% of the votes. He plays with the people psychologically and convince the world that he been a popular president.

God give us a better Maldives and better presidents!