Vice Presidential Debate

The first ever Presidential Debate organized by the Ministry of Legal Reforms, Information and Arts under the "Think Nation" campaign was held last night.
Dr. Ahmed Shaheed joined on stage for the first time with three other Vice Presidential Candidates from the leading political parties. Two parties, SLP and IDP refrained from participating in the debate citing lack of importance of a Vice Presidential debate in light of a failure to hold a Presidential Debate.
During the first round, participants were asked to outline their vision for the country in the upcoming five years. Dr. Shaheed spoke of an exemplary government formed under the leadership of Dr. Hassan Saeed, one where the Maldivian citizen would lead a respectable, comfortable and fulfilling life, with easy and equal access to education, employment, housing and social security. He also stressed the importance of eliminating social ills such as drug abuse from the country, and finding gainful means of employment and engaging the youth in the development of the country.
The second round, designed to respond to the other candidates saw Dr. Shaheed challenging DRP Candidate's statement on accountability. Dr. Shaheed stressed the importance of fulfilling promises made to the people, and stepping aside in the event of failure to meet these obligations.
“This is what democracy is all about and if there are those who don’t understand this principle of democracy, they should not be here” said Dr. Shaheed.
During the last round or the rebuttal round, Dr. Shaheed challenged the graduation from LDC status for the country, and called on the importance of citing accurate indicators that reflect the true level of development of the Maldives. He also defended the reform credentials of Dr. Hassan Saeed, and spoke on how the reform process was accelerated with the changes they brought about from within the government.
In conclusion, Dr. Shaheed called on the people to look to the future and elect a capable, educated and responsible government this time.