Who is Ahmed Ali Sawad?

Qasim Ibrahim announced last night that his running mate would be Ahmed Ali Sawad. When a lot of us heard this, our first question is, Who is he? The only thing I know is that he certainly is a stranger to Maldivian politics. Is this the reason for his nomination? Perhaps Qasim wanted a person who hasn't yet been tainted, a "pure" person who hasn't had any dirty affiliation with Maumoon. Apparently he is from both Male' and Addu. So one of the motives could be to gain back the potential Adduan votes that he lost when he did not choose Munavvar, as previously thought.

On the other hand, would people really care for a new face? Unlike some people like Munavvar, Sawad would not have a powerful support base in Addu (apart from family, I suppose). Would the die-hard Addu reformists change loyalties just because the running mate has some Addu connections?

In my opinion, if Sawad wants to gain popularity (and help Qasim in the process, of course), he needs to really be out in the public in the next few weeks. He needs to become a familiar face that reminds people of what he (supposedly) is - an untainted politician who truly wants to help bring the change we need.

Milestone in Zimbabwe politics

Today marks a milestone in Zimbabwean politics. President Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980 finally has agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition. Another long-standing dictator stripped of power. Is Maumoon squirming in his brocade seat thinking that his days are numbered?

The Teachers' Vote and Qasim

The Association for Teachers’ Link has again got back at the government for continuing to fund for various establishing various agencies and new high-salaried posts. They are saying that, despite the government’s claim of not having funds for non-budgeted items, it is continuing to fund projects with an obvious political motive.

The teachers’ frustration is understandable. As we have seen in the teachers’ strike earlier this year, they also hold immense power and support in the society. It was interesting to see how even parents (apart from a handful of powerful politicians) supported the teachers’ pleas during the strike. I wonder how the teachers’ frustrations would have an impact on the coming election. Who, among the presidential candidates, would be in the good books, or more importantly in the “black list” of teachers? Maumoon, undoubtedly would not be a popular candidate among the revolutionary teachers’ group. What about Qasim, who was the Finance Minister during all this turmoil? Would the premise that he was in charge of the budget during that time prove to be a disadvantage for him during the election?

However, it is also true that Qasim has personally helped many a teacher throughout the country to get higher education, etc. His foundation has sent many in the education sector abroad for training. Would this be enough for him to gain the much needed support of teachers? If not him, who, among the candidates, would teachers see as a true reformer who would help them?