Parties agree on four points to end political turmoil

Representatives of major political parties meeting at Bandos Island Resort have agreed on four points in order to bring an end to the political turmoil that has rocked the nation for a long time.

Representatives of political parties have continued discussions to find solutions to political issues since last Thursday, and bringing an end to political chaos tops the agenda of the forum.

The first session of the Bandos forum was concluded without considerable progress on any discussion points. However, parties submitted a 30-point paper during the session held last night, suggesting ways to bring peace and harmony back to the country. The night saw no progress, though, as the session heated up. Today morning, however, the parties agreed to 4 of the 30 points. An official from the Government Alliance told Sun today that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) agreed to those points after a private session with Mediation Expert P.A. Eve Monnet. However, the official said that the four points on which an agreement was reached was to be undisclosed as yet.

“The Mediation Expert discussed in a private session with President Nasheed and MDP representatives and agreed on some 4 points”, said the official.

He also said that there were further issues with the agreed points as well, as MDP did not agree to a part of the second point in the 30-point proposal. That point says that no party should try to hinder the political activities of other parties in the islands, and that no party should try to hinder any political personnel from visiting any islands in the country.

When called for a comment, no representative of MDP picked the phone, and the Secretariat of the Discussions said that information on the agreed points would be shared with the media some time today.

Six issues have been included in the agenda for the ongoing All-Party Talks initiated by President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik. They are the issue of political chaos in the country, the issues related to national budget, the issue related to independent commissions, the issue of reforming laws and regulations, the issue of laws and regulations that need to be made, and the issue of conducting early presidential elections.