MDP should be ashamed to talk about coups: Gasim

Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim has said that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) holds the record for conducting coups, and MDP should be ashamed to talk about coups.

Speaking at the parliament today, Gasim said that MDP came to power in 2008 through a coalition in which Jumhooree Party (JP) was a party to. He said that an agreement including fingerprints had been made to give 30 percent of the government to his party, but his party was ‘kicked out’ of the government in violation of this agreement.

He noted that MDP received only 25 percent votes in the first round of the presidential election in 2008. He said that MDP received 54 percent in the second round as a result of the cooperation, coalition and efforts of JP and Gaumee Party.

“He kicked us all out and tried to make everything his own, what right do they have to say ‘my vote’ or ‘our vote’? Can there be a more serious coup than this?”

He said that the investigation conducted by international groups had clearly proved that the government was not changed through a coup.

Gasim said that MDP talks about coups to cover up the coup they conducted themselves.

He said that MDP’s calls for building tourist guest houses, while they also call to boycott tourism in the Maldives, do not make sense; and that Maldivians are better informed now and cannot be misled by MDP.

Gasim also spoke about the lack of a proper sewerage system in Maamigili, which has a population of about 2,500 people. He referred to remarks made by an MDP member who referred to Gasim while speaking at the parliament earlier and said that the people of Maamigili use contaminated water, and pointed out the lack of a proper sewerage system in Maamigili.

Gasim said that the provision of a sewerage system in Maamigili had been included in the State budget for three years, and the misappropriation of those funds by some people is not something he should be held responsible for.