Maldives’ Slide Toward One Party Rule

Expand Abdulla Yameen takes his oath as the President of Maldives during a swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Male November 17, 2013. © 2013 Reuters Unnoticed by much of the world, the sundrenched holiday paradise of the Maldives is slipping rapidly into autocratic rule. Since February, the government has banned opposition parties from elections and locked up political leaders and even judges. On June 13, in a blatant move to strengthen President Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s grip on power, the Maldives Criminal Court sentenced former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, former Chief Justice Abdulla…

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