Lifting The Shell: Signs Of Change In Addu Atoll

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On a sandy road in Addu atoll Feydhoo, a woman hangs up her washing outside her family’s traditional house. Marking the low wall of her home, black-lettered graffiti reads: “We want democracy.”

Along the coastal road connecting the islands, huge banners flap in the wind against a backdrop of stretching palm trees and white beaches. Music blares out of party campaign offices as people gather to greet and cheer candidates arriving in seaplanes.

These are just some of the signs of change in the southernmost Addu atoll. A far cry from past years, locals are now able to talk openly about politics and to campaign – and, most importantly, free to make a genuine choice at the polls for the first time.

“Since we were children we thought Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was just a name for the presidency post,” says Ahmed Asraf, 25, a diving instructor, who believes most people in the atoll want change.

“We thought like that because we have never heard another name until now. But now we know that’s just his name,” he said, adding he sees change as resulting from political parties, which were only legalised in 2005.

“Political parties gave a chance for freedom. Now people are able to say what they want, that’s what parties did. Before people were under a coconut shell, they only saw what the government wanted them to see through a hole in the shell. But parties lifted that shell.”

Across the atoll, its 28,000 citizens seem split between supporting Hassan Saeed, whose family originate from Feydhoo, incumbent President Gayoom and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed (Anni). Republican Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim, the most recent to join the race, has also garnered a significant following.

By the sea, campaign offices line the coastal road. Large billboards display profiles of Gayoom, Gasim and Saeed, or MDP designs; the atoll has traditionally been a hotbed of opposition politics. But with no public opinion polls carried out, it is difficult to predict how Addu will vote.

On Saturday, several hundred MDP supporters stand at the harbour awaiting Anni’s arrival.

Fathimath Zulfa, 37, a teacher from Feydhoo, was among the supporters. “It doesn’t matter that he’s not from Addu. I support Anni because he is friendly and he understands how we live,” she says. Fathimath believes the current government ignores teachers.

“We are happy because this is the first time we are able to vote freely,” she says. “Before we have kept in something like a jail or a cage.”

But, she added, “If something goes wrong [in the voting], I don’t think it will be ok. People will not let it happen. If something like before is going to happen, I think there will be violence.”

However Ahmed, 21, says his whole family support independent candidate Hassan Saeed. “My family like Hassan Saeed. He’s from here. He’s nice like Maumoon, educated like Maumoon. But he should only stay around for five years.”

Nearby, a group of boys calling themselves “multi-party” supporters wear t-shirts split into red and yellow – one side of each supporting the Republican Party and the other the MDP. On their backs, a blue hand represents the government’s Dhivehi Raiyyithunge party (DRP).

“No candidate is good, no candidate is bad,” says Paris Ahmed, 25, who says the group will make their decision on the day of voting. “We trust everyone. We trust Maumoon,” he said.

Asked whether they supported a multi-party system, Ahmed said, “Maybe not 76 parties. But 20-something parties is good.”

“It’s good because everybody is trying to give more money than everybody else. If they give money we will give some support. But not our vote,” he added.

Yet 23-year-old Shameem says he and his friends are not participating in the “campaign fever”. “We are not part of a campaign. We don’t get involved in that. Because they are fighting, that’s all they do.”

And another Adduan, Ibrahim, in his 50s, said he supported President Gayoom’s bid for re-election. “He has brought us better education, better healthcare,” he says.

Despite hopes for a free and fair election, many have their doubts. “The government will play tricks,” says Mohamed Hussein, 49, a business owner. However he adds the candidate he supports can gain enough votes to overcome them.

“Previously there was a referendum: in that vote also nothing was fair. The same will happen this year,” he says.

“I don’t think lots of parties is good, just two is good. It’s ok if it’s just going to be in the headlines and talking about it until elections happen. I don’t like many, many parties …But I hope the pressure can change Maumoon,” he added.

And 29-year-old Mausoom, who said he had not registered to vote in time, said the election would be no different from polls in the past. “We have had 30 years of Gayoom and we have just kept our mouths shut. If he’s not going to win there will be bloodshed,” he says.

“Even before we have had observers, and they just look, and they don’t say anything. Afterwards in the parliament they say it was not free and fair but what use is that? You can’t change the result.

“Before, we had people dead for 12 years who voted, this year I’m sure even pregnant women’s babies will vote.”

And 19-year old Ahmed agrees. “I want to see change. But I don’t know what is going to happen. Whether we see it or not, there will be some cheating.”