A recent poll conducted via SMS by the television programme Siyaasathu revealed that some three out of four Maldivians think that the upcoming elections – the first multi-party polls ever to take place in the country, slated for 4 October – will not be free and fair. While this kind of polling should not be taken as a conclusive indicator of public opinion, it is interesting to note that the prevailing fear of vote rigging is a reminder of how Maldivians have become particularly cautious and sceptical in recent years, even as democratic change has loomed on the horizon. As the proposal for an interim government failed and with longtime President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom still at large at the helm, Maldivians can perhaps be forgiven for being a little edgy during this historic run-up. Both the current experience and what lies ahead for the atolls – the elections as well as a new constitution – are all brand new. And there are anxiety levels to show it.
It must be noted that, for a tiny country, a lot of political noise is currently being made in the Maldives. With 12 active political formations, the country is now home to more parties per capita than perhaps any other country of Southasia. As such, campaigning has inevitably risen to a fever pitch, and a few sensible parties have now shifted their rhetoric away from furious finger-pointing at President Gayoom, and instead – finally – begun painting their vision of the country's future. Indeed, dragging the president through the mud seems now to have been used more as an initial tactic to win the confidence of a public weary of his rule. Understandably, this eventually came to an end – a list of 30 years of failures eventually reaches a point where it becomes dreary. And, as the public's interest has shifted instead towards the future, so too has the parties' rhetoric.
There are two types of Maldivians today: those who supported President Gayoom in the past and continue to do so, and those who want change. It must be said that those who continue to support the president do so out of a fervent belief in the man. For the rest, if there ever was a broth spoiled by too many cooks, this certainly seems to be it. First there was the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which disintegrated and left the country with offspring of offspring, each with their own manifesto and interests.
The problem is that, as voting day approaches, Maldivians are finding it increasingly difficult to actually decide on a party. Party politics is a very new thing in the atolls, after all, and many Maldivians still find it abhorrent that politicians lie without blinking an eye at public forums; then they are surprised, and dismayed, to find that not a single candidate seems exempt from this kind of slippery showmanship. As amusing as it may be to the jaded outsider, the ability to understand, weigh and filter political rhetoric remains very much in its infancy in the country. Little wonder, then, that 'party-hopping' among prospective voters is taking place at a tremendous rate.