Minivan News reported:

Nominations for the new, independent elections commission closed Tuesday, with all seven eligible political parties submitting names.With three of the registered parties supporting incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the largest opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had previously expressed concerns over the independence of the commission.

END Qoute… read more here.

Parliament will decide on the names submitted by political parties to elect the Elections Commission consisting of five commissioners. This transitional Elections Commission would oversee the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections slated for October this year and early next year.

The names have been submitted. There is strong evidence that the majority of names submitted by the parties to the commission consists of party line nominations rather than those holding independent political views. It will be argued that this cannot be avoided due the smallness of the size of the country.

One fact that struck me was that the list of nominees from the parties did not contain a single female nominee. It just goes to show how the political leadership can think in unison despite their differences.