The Maldivian political narrative is more fast-paced than a John Grisham novel and has more twists and turns than an airport thriller. The latest subplot was set in motion when reports began to circulate of President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom's wish to replace Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed with Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb as the vice president by 26 July – Maldives' Independence Day.
It seemed an impossible task, given that Minister Adeeb is 33 years old while the Constitution required that the vice president (and the president) be at least 35 years of age. But, as in fiction, anything is possible if the author is determined enough. Short of changing Adeeb's birth certificate, the only other option was to rewrite the Constitution. Which is exactly what the president did. On 24 June, the Constitution was amended with the help of opposition parties Jumhooree [Republican] Party (JP) and the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), setting the new eligibility range for the president and the vice president between 30 and 65 years of age.
A constitutional amendment requires an affirmative vote from three-fourth of the 85-member Majlis, the Maldivian Parliament. President Yameen's Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and coalition members enjoy a majority with 48 seats, which was insufficient to get the required 64 votes. So the President set out to acquire the remaining ones.
Over the last few months, the Yameen government has been putting pressure on the JP, which split from the PPM in January 2015, through its legal actions against JP leader and tourism tycoon Qasim Ibrahim. Qasim's Villa Group was slapped with a USD 90 million tax bill. JP Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim reportedly said that the government has "economically paralysed" Qasim, preventing his participation in opposition activities. Not unexpectedly, Qasim's party yielded to the pressure and issued a whip to support the amendment. He has also declared that he will give up the leadership of the party. Incidentally, the new upper limit of 65 years for presidential candidates disqualifies Qasim to contest for the next parliamentary elections in 2018, when he will be 66.