Slugging it out for democracy

Democracy is a system of government that is generally accepted to include four key elements:

1.A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair
elections.
2.The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life.
3.Protection of the human rights of all citizens.
4.A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Thirty eight years on, after Maldives established its second republic, we now find that our prevailing presidential system only manages to elect our leader but we are still struggling to replace government, protect human rights and maintain the rule of law.

Our nation has entered into another pit fight- a debate that forces the 100 per cent Muslim peace-loving citizens of this island state to choose the presidential system or the parliamentary form of government. The argument is that both systems have their advantages and weaknesses as no system is perfect.

Through out our history from the sultanate up to now, the Maldives system of government has kept power in the control of an elite class that has maintained a tight grip on every aspect of life. The result is that the resources of the country are being used to make the rich even richer while the poor remain poor still looking for handouts just to keep going.

The country does not have a social security system to take care of an aging population. For the last three years this nation has wasted valuable time and an enormous amount of money just to agree on the framework of changing a constitution that took 17 years to make.

For the capitalistic businessman under whose influence and wealth the current system works, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Making money by hook or crook seems to be the way forward for them, even when the nation is confronted to make a democracy by necessity.