Nasheed's rise
It took just over 30 years for absolute leader Abdul Gayoom to be ousted from his "president" role in the Maldivian government (UNHCR Republic of Maldives). His successor Mohammad Nasheed was a young, smart Maldivian who sincerely wanted to make an impact on the country. He was also the result of the Maldives' first democratic election since Gayoom's election in 1978, even though technically the country had been democratic itself since 1965 (Robinson, timeline). The reason for this, so called break in Maldivian democracy was the combination of corruption and lack of stability in the government. These faults can best be shown in the riots of 2010-2012, after Nasheed's election in Male.
Male
On February 7, 2012, a Maldivian Democratic Party group supporting President Nasheed clashed with a group supporting Gayoom's opposition party (Robinson 7). The group supporting former President Abdul Gayoom was described as a "rent-a-mob" by a local Maldivian news source (Robinson 7), meaning Gayoom had offered them something of use in exchange for a mob in support of him. When the police arrived to the scene, instead of separating the two groups, they, "charged down the streets beating Nasheed supporters" (Robinson 7).
When the police arrived, instead of breaking up the violence, they began siding with opposition supporters, refusing a direct order from President Nasheed to withdraw (Robinson 8). When Nasheed sent the army's crowd control to the scene, "the rogue police regrouped and headed for Republic Square" (Robinson 8). The opposition group quickly gained momentum in the square and backed the government into their headquarters, fending off ineffective tear gas canisters (Robinson 9). Military ranks were broken by the chaos, and even some officers joined the opposition and fighting against their former coworkers (Robinson 10). Eventually the mob was able to break down the gates separating them from the military (Robinson 9). Under duress, Nasheed decided that it was in the best interest of the country, his family, and himself to resign and allow Abdul Gayoom to resume power (Robinson 15).
It took less than six hours for Mohammad Nasheed to be in complete control of his nation, to being the victim of disloyalty in his government. This shows how quickly a successful coup can come about and escalate in the Maldives. Set his mind on regaining power, Abdul Gayoom was able to use his resources to create this overthrow (his party has maintained power since) (Hoffmann). This example shows the instability of the Maldivian government and through this instability, it's unreliability in an emergency situation.
Law enforcement
Corruption in the government has extended to law enforcement in the supreme court, where a supreme court judge kept his position after video evidence arose of him committing multiple crimes. This is not the only example of corruption in the supreme court, where judges are known for letting off royal thugs and imprisoning innocent political enemies (Robinson 22). In strong democracies, the supreme court needs to be the backbone of the government, this is not the case
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