On May 6, Maldives’ Speaker of Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed was seriously injured in an assassination attempt outside his home in the capital, Male. The improvised explosive device (IED) blast also wounded members of his security team and bystanders, including a foreign national. Although jihadists elements remain the primary suspect for the attempt on Nasheed’s life, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In early May 2020, the pro-Islamic State (IS) media center Haqqu released a documentary on the life of the slain Maldivian jihadist Ahmad Nishwan. The biographical sketch on Nishwan, which is approximately 33-minutes-long, comes amid IS’ increased outreach efforts to Maldivians.
No one would have wildly imagined that a few stunning pictures of a coastal island could trigger cascading diplomatic short-fuse between two asymmetrical neighbouring countries.
As the September 07 presidential elections are getting closer in Maldives, three out of four presidential candidates and their political parties have tried to woo the security agencies and indulge in religion-based campaigning. These issues have dominated the campaigning of the two candidates - Ibrahim Gasim of the Jumhoree Party (JP) and Mohamed Waheed of the Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP). Instead of focusing on the socio-economic issues, these two parties have been trying to win. The first round of the general elections by dividing the society between Islamic and anti-Islamic forces.
On June 2, 2005, the Maldivian parliament voted to allow multi-party democracy for the first time in the tiny atoll nation ruled by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom since 1978. The parliament unanimously approved a resolution to allow political parties to seek recognition and contest elections, ending the no-party system in the nation. The motion was moved based on a request from President Gayoom to review its earlier decision not to allow political parties in the country.