Opposition lawmaker of Addu Meedho constituency Rozaina Adam declared that the government’s staggering loss in the recent Local Council Election is the consequence of browbeating the people.
Speaking at a joint opposition rally held late Monday, the prominent member of main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) pronounced that President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s faction of the divided ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) is still unable to stomach the results of the local elections and to understand why the majority of government candidates lost.
She claimed that the people turned the tables on the state in the election in defiance of the government’s incessant “intimidation” of citizens. As an example, MP Rozaina slammed the remarks made by some state officials accusing civil servants such as teachers and nurses of working against the government.
“In a vote, each individual does as they see fit. They do not have to vote for the government,” she said, stressing that state employees are under no obligations to support a certain political party regardless of the ruling power and regime.
“They follow government policies while working in schools. They follow government policies while treating patients in hospitals. But their votes won’t follow government policies. A vote is an entirely different matter,” she said, adding that the government should learn “democracy” from the opposition.
MP Rozaina went on to criticise the comments made by government aligned lawmakers and ministers following the ruling party’s loss in the election. She particularly slated PPM’s claim that independent candidates that had run in the election would soon join the ruling party.
“They say these candidates ran as independent candidates for fear of not receiving votes under PPM’s name. Then aren’t [PPM] admitting that they can’t get votes under the name of Yameen’s faction? Those candidates got votes under their own name; those votes do not belong to PPM under any circumstance.”
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