Yearbook 2010
During the year, according to softwareleverage, the Maldives was in a drawn-out political tug of war between the government and the opposition, which almost paralyzed both the work of Parliament and the government. In June, the entire government collectively resigned, citing the opposition, which has a majority in parliament, blocking all legislative proposals. President Mohamed Nashid reinstalled all 13 ministers after a week, but the crisis persisted. The United States sent Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Blake on mediation missions to Male.
In August, in practice, the Maldives was without a Supreme Court for four days, after the mandate of the Provisional Court had expired without the paralyzed Parliament being able to agree on an extension. The establishment of a politically independent Supreme Court is part of the reforms initiated by President Nashid since he took office in 2008 after decades of dictatorship. Through a presidential decree, judicial work was kept in motion until Parliament could agree on a new law that permanently permits the Supreme Court’s activities. Disagreement over the appointment of judges remained.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Maldives has a population of 515,696 (2018). President Nashid made a personal apology to a European married couple who had been grossly violated at a ceremony to renew their marriage vows during the Maldives holiday. In a speech, filled with religious rhetoric and sexual allusions in the local language divehi, the hotel’s master of ceremonies condemned the couple as “unfaithful pigs”. A film from the ceremony was posted on the Internet, where it aroused resurrection. The authorities intervened quickly to reduce the damage to the country’s vital tourism industry. Two persons responsible for the violation were arrested and a swiftly adopted new law stipulated a fine of approximately half a million SEK for hotels holding similar ceremonies in a language that guests do not understand.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the two letter abbreviation of MV stands for the country of Maldives in geography.