Is Maldives moving towards representative rule?

Indeed this is something to cheer about since this South Asian nation has been intermittently facing pro-democracy agitation, and any step forward towards changing the pattern of governance definitely deserves kudos.

The parliament, known as the "Majlis" is made up of independent members, but it has decided to allow registration of political parties that would facilitate political parties oriented politics, an issue that caused unrest in the country last year.

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President Mamoun Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978 and is Asia's longest serving ruler, earlier promised political reforms, but the pro-democracy activists were skeptical about his intentions.

The Maldivian democratic party (MDP),which operates from Sri Lanka, says that it will carefully monitor the progress towards democratisation of the country. It'sÊleader Mohammad Nasheed was among four activists arrested recently when government said they were taken into custody for fear of inciting unrest and were later released.

Nasheed, who returned to the country after self-exile for 18-months,said they would not relent until Maldives introduces multi-party democracy. At least three parties have applied for registration including the MDP and President Gayoom's Maldivian Peoples Party after the parliament opened the way for multi party political system.

Civil societies in the South Asian region were not turning a blind eye to the developments in one of its smallest nations because the issue of representative authority is inextricably linked with the recent situation in the Maldives. It has been experiencing pro-democracy movement for sometime past and a state of emergency was declared last year there to quell the unrest.

This was not for the first time during the 25-year rule of President Mamoon Abdul Gayoom that the small but attractive tourists land was convulsed by demands for democratic rule. The undemocratic pattern of governance has been continuing for a long time.

The country of only three lakh people is otherwise generally quiet and the ascendancy of President Gayoom is quite strong without any sign of slackening his authority. He is not known for any iron-fisted kind of rule. In fact, he has a sober and gentle image abroad which is not without any reason. President Gayoom, regardless of the size of his nation, is not unknown in the international arena, and he has particularly played an active role in the growth and development of the seven-nation Saarc which has earned for him admiration in the region.

He is probably the only head of state in Saarc who has attended all the summits being a founder-leader of the regional forum. The king of another small state, Bhutan, is the other such leader who is still at the helm, but he has not taken part in all the Saarc heads of government conferences.

But the issue of democracy at home is altogether a different matter and there can be uproar if this is lacking in the country. President Gayoom is exactly facing the same. The promised political reforms have not come, hence the pro-democracy agitation in the Maldives.

South Asia is largely a democratic region as most of the countries here are practicing representative government for a long time. The case of Pakistan and Bhutan is a little different since the former is yet to witness return of full democracy after an elected government was overthrown by the military in 1999. A kind of democratic rule is there following parliamentary elections and an elected prime minister is the head of government, but the real power is rested with the president, who remains in active service of the army as its head. Pakistan was stripped of its membership in the Commonwealth following the removal of the elected government, but it was restored last year as the process of return of democracy highlighted by the parliamentary elections was taken into account. This development notwithstanding, the country is yet to revert to full representative authority.

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is clearly not a democracy, but the king possibly feels the need for giving up certain authority -- albeit slowly and in a limited way to the people -- and some signs are discernible in that direction. Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka are practicing democracies, while Nepal has unfortunately slipped back to effective monarchyÊin recent times when the elected prime minister was dismissed in February and the king seized all powers.

A little further away, the South-East Asian countries have also moved forward in the quest for democratic rule and some of them have admirably abandoned undemocratic and dictatorial form of governance. Indonesia, the largest of the nation in that region and biggest Muslim country in the world in term of population recently saw for the first time election to the presidency through direct popular votes. This is a great leap forward for the country which was under one-man dictatorial rule for a long spell of 32 years not long ago. The Philippines is also having representative authority with a similar background of authoritarian rule not long ago. All these are commendable since people's wishes must be reflected in the system of governance and this is finding larger acceptance across the world as a logical corollary to the winds of change.

Maldives may be a small country but it has its own charm and importance. The leader of the nation is also respected otherwise in the regional and international context because of his image and intellectual firmness. However, what is evidently lacking in the Maldives is democratic rule. The MDP, which is campaigning for multi-party democracy, had alleged that pro-democracy activists are coming under all form of harassment. It is heartening to note that things are now changing for betterment. It will be laudable if the persons at the helm in a country which is tiny but is well known for sophistication of its citizens and their standard of education moves towards representative authority.

President Gayoom appears to haveÊfelt the wind of democracy which are engulfing this picturesque land as well, and it is better the sooner it takes place. It will be additionally desirable if he has a role in that positive development for which he will be more commendably remembered in the history of the islands.

President Gayoom has been quoted as saying that multi-party system is crucial for functioning of a sound political pattern and the reforms in Maldives are taking place in that direction. He also said that the new constitution envisaging the reforms is expected to come into force from 2006.These all augur well for the small nation which was devastated by catastrophic tsunami late last year.

The political reforms in Maldives are certainly welcome developments even if they are not to the full satisfaction of the opposition at the moment. It sounds plausible that the country is moving towards democracy, at least based on what the president has said and what the Majlis has approved. South Asia's democratic credentials will enhance if the hitherto undemocratic nations -- Maldives and Bhutan -- embrace representative character, even if slowly.

Zaglul A.Chowdhury is the Foreign Editor of BSS.