Editorial - Mubarak's victory puts Gayyoom hopes up :: Dhivehi Observer

Editorial
Mubarak's victory puts Gayyoom hopes up

By A. S. I. Moosa (Sappe'), 12 Sept. 2005

There is no doubt that the victory of Husni Mubarak in the first ever presidential election in Egypt for 7000 years would have given the Maldives dictator Gayyoom renewed hope of remaining in power for more years. Mubarak won with 88% of the votes which represented only 23% of the eligible voters. The low turn-out was believed to be related to the lack of confidence voters have in the political system of Egypt as well as lack of awareness and understanding of the power of the ballot box.

Gayyoom's state controlled media has reported this event without shedding any light into the details, as usual. Like Gayyoom, Mubarak has been in power unchallenged for more than 2 decades and has just won another 6 year term. However, the facts are quite astonishing. The 88% majority is a complete misrepresentation. Mubarak secured 88% of 23% of the votes, which means he has approximately 20% of the popular vote. So in real terms, only 1 in 5 people voted for him and hence 80% of the public voice is not represented. This obviously means that he does not have a popular democratic mandate and many will remain skeptical of his recent change of skin. Nevertheless, Egyptians are jubilant because at least it is a new beginning and for the first time they had the option to vote in a presidential election not a well orchestrated referendum.

There are other reasons why Mubarak won this election. The usual tactics of intimidation and use of public funds to promote him played a substantial role. For more than 24 years, Mubarak has been the only face of Egypt. He has brain washed the ordinary people and has made them believe just like Gayyoom that no one else is capable of doing the job. In addition to that, the opponents are very much under resourced and were not able to reach out to the ordinary people or to mobilize them to at least turn out in big numbers on polling day.

There is absolutely no doubt that Gayyoom would have taken a lot of comfort from this event and will try to emulate the actions of his good friend Mubarak. He has always used state funds and the huge resources of the government machinery to promote him, even when he faced no opposition. His aim was to achieve higher percentages of the endorsement in referendums and in parliamentary elections he wants his supporters to win all the seats not just a majority.

There is a formidable opposition in the Maldives now so he will not leave any stone unturned in order to ensure that he wins the multiparty election that he is expected to announce very soon. There is clear evidence that he will use all his powers, including brute force, to win the election and recruiting wealthy philandthropists like Qasim Ibrahim and Waheed'deen to promote his party and using their popularity to secure more votes.

The opposition must learn from what happened in Egypt last week and device a strategy to ensure that every citizen of Maldives is informed of the choices they are going to face in any future election. They must be told about the injustices of Gayyoom's government and why they should reject him now.

People like Qasim and other prominent businessmen are obviously abusing their powers and influencing the minds of the ordinary and destitute people and this must be stopped. They must realize that the future of Maldives has no room for dictatorship but it wants full participatory democracy. By siding with Gayyoom, they are not only destroying their own future but also that of the thousands of destitute Maldivians. If Qasim really wants to help people, he should stop using money to buy their votes and start teaching them how to earn their own living and protect their individual as well as collective rights.

To end this on a happy note, according to reliable surveys to assess public opinion in the Maldives, except for a couple of Atolls like Qasim's Ari Atoll and the very far Northern Atolls (Haa Alif and Dhaal), as well as Baa Atoll, Gayyoom is unlikely to secure a winning margin no matter how hard he may try. Nevertheless, we must not be complacent and must work hard to win every single vote and to ensure that the turn out is as large as possible. People power must prevail in Maldives.