We have to be prepared for a scenario in which Gayyoom “wins” the election on 28th October!

At a press briefing today, the CEO of MIFCO, Adil Saleem, endorsed MDP candidate, Mohamed Nasheed, for the upcoming election. This was a pleasantly surprising announcement by Saleem. While congratulating Adil Saleem for standing up against this dictatorial regime, I call upon the Managing Directors and chairmen of other parastatal companies such as MTCC, Island Aviations, etc. to put country first and take the side of the reformists. We should not sell our souls and our country for an old man and his ambitious half-brother.

No dictatorship has ever been voted out of office through a free and fair election. This is an ominous statistic. I believe that we are not about to see history been set through the ballot box in this small country. Gayyoom and his two brothers (Hameed and Yamin), and Gayyoom’s two sons (Farish and Gassan) and his two daughters (Dhunya and Yumna) and Gayyoom’s influential wife (Nasreena) and Nasreena’s brothers (Abbas and Ilyas) and this whole extended family have too much to lose. Look at the expensive palace being built at Endherimage by Nasreena. Look at the businesses being setup and run by members of Kaamineege Family and Endherimage family. Will they give up all that and just migrate abroad?

Will Nasreena be willing to give up Theemuge Palace and Aarah and the luxury yachts and the weekend trips to Singapore where she can shop with unlimited-platinum-credit cards? Can you ever imagine Hameed and Yamin and Gayyoom and Nasreena and their families living amidst us while someone other than Gayyoom rules this country? They will not leave even a single stone unturned just to stop that from happening.

All this shows that this is a do or die situation for the Endheri and Kaaminee clans! For these two clans there are two options in front of them. First option is that they will win the election by hook or by crook. The second option is that they will stamp out any win for the reformists by the use of brutal force. The new law of assembly currently being debated at the Parliament would be passed before the election and that law will be used as an excuse to use brutal force to suppress any protests that may result from the reformist camps when Gayyoom “wins”!

We all patted ourselves on our backs and congratulated ourselves for having a very “peaceful” and “civilized” first round of voting on 08th October. As I have said in a previous post in this blog, we are currently experiencing the calm before the storm. The confusion at the Corona Printers last night and the attack on the Adhaalth Party member and the appointment of Fazeel Najeeb as the Governor of MMA and the leaked agreement between Yamin and Gayyoom all point to one thing! The regime will not give up power that easily. In fact they will have a death-grip on it as a drowning man will hold onto even a straw.

We all want change. We are all impatient for that change. But don’t be fooled by overconfidence. Don’t think that we can dislodge Gayyoom through the ballot box on 28th October. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that if a free and fair election is held in this country Gayyoom will lose by a huge margin. But the point is that the election that will be held on 28th October will not be a free and fair election. MDP Vice President Ibrahim Hussain Zaki has also said this quite categorically. So, the chances are high that by hook or by crook Gayyoom and Yamin will make sure that we lose and they win.

The leaders of the MDP-Iththihaadh and all reformists should be prepared for this scenario. Don’t be fooled by over-confidence. Believe that this is the calm before the storm. Understand the fact that no dictatorship can be voted out of office through an election. We have hard times ahead of us! We need all the help we can get. Endorsements and support from potential leaders such as Adil Saleem of MIFCO should be sought and encouraged. The country is tilting at the mouth of an erupting volcano.

As I have said before, the leaders of the MDP-Iththihaadh and all reformists should be prepared for this scenario. What will we do if Gayyoom and Yamin steal this election from our hands in broad daylight? Will we complain to the Elections Commission which is likely to rule in Gayyoom’s favour? Will we complain to the Supreme Court which too is likely to rule in Gayyoom’s favour? Will we complain to the international community which can do very little to stop Gayyoom! If we don’t help ourselves then no one else can help us!