All-Party Talks interrupted again

All-Party Talks, aimed at finding solutions for political disputes following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed from presidency on the 7th of February this year, were started this afternoon after a long duration of pause, only to be interrupted as soon as it began.

Talks were scheduled for today from 2 o’clock in the afternoon until 6 o’clock in the evening. However, not long after the session began at the Velaanage Building, it fell apart, as the legal capacity of those who represented the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was questioned.

Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, an MP from the MDP, and former Minister of Tourism Mariyam Zulfaa, attended the meeting on behalf of MDP. An official who participated in the discussions told Sun that members participating in the meeting asked questions about whether they were legally authorized to speak on behalf of MDP.

“Some members repeatedly said that MDP should be represented by a person or by persons appointed and authorized to do so by the President of the Party, and that as the Party currently has no President, the issue posed unsolvable difficulties, and the deadlock persisted. Finally, the session was disrupted”, said the official.

During the last meeting before today’s session, all the parties had agreed on an agenda for today;s session. MDP had said that they were hopeful about today’s session.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have refused to acknowledged the legitimacy of the current Government headed by President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, who stepped on from being Deputy President to Presidency, as dictated in the Constitution. MDP has claimed that Nasheed was toppled in a coup d’état, and demanded for presidential elections as soon as possible. While MDP has conducted gatherings and protests, often violent, to try and disrupt the government machinery, almost all other parties, including all major ones, have said that the current government is perfectly legitimate, as Nasheed resigned of his own accord on television, before the whole nation.