There are two sport issues ongoing in our civil courts. This is an unusual occurrence.
The first of these two cases is the legitimacy of the recent FAM electoral process. (Male' FC vs. FAM).
The second is the case of sports manager Hanim, publicly lobbying for a national presidential candidate, incumbent President Gayyoom, while in the post of a senior civil servant. (Manager Hanim vs. the Maldives Civil Service Commission).
Male' FC vs. FAM
Male' FC, a member of the National FA claims the law requires the express approval of the statutes by the Registrar prior to elections. The club contends the FAM is trying to hide behind a claim made by the Registrar that the law do not specify that elections held without his approval may be deemed null and void.
What the Registrar and the Home Ministry fail to consider is the precedence set by the previous verdict in 2006. The civil court actually ruled that the Registrar's approval is mandatory. The obvious inference is that elections conducted without such approval will not be accepted by court. We are yet to see how the court may yet again justify the Registrar's claim this time around.
The Gayyoom administration is quite dismissive of the law. "Gayyoomism" dictate that corners be cut to ensure that the direct line of command is anchored at the top.... the President!
Here is a case where the Gayyoom administration is unable to fathom the notion that a party outside of the government dare raise a point of order on the way government conduct it's business. Gayyoomist culture dictate that this is not just any body's business. This is government business and others better keep out!
The Sports Ministry claims to the outside world that sports associations such as the FAM are civil society organisations. The reality however is quite different at home. The FAM is an organisation run by the Sports Ministry.
The club's claims their reason for taking this issue to court is rooted more in principle than any other ulterior motive. The club is merely upholding the requirement of the Articles of Association that members must be responsible for ensuring that the rule of law is upheld in the activities they participate.
Manager Hanim vs. the Maldives Civil Service Commission
National Football Manager Hanim is in court to reclaim his civil service Director Generalship at the Ministry of Sports. He has been recently demoted to the post of a Director by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service Commission ruled Manager Hanim's public lobby on behalf of the incumbent President Gayyoom at the launching of his Presidential campaign last month contravened their regulations.
Hanim's lawyer Fizan claims the recently ratified constitution do not bar Hanim as a civil servant from participating in political activity. Lawyer Fizan is dismissive of the principle of conditionality that limits such rights based on circumstance.
In the meantime the question of Manager Hanim's actions with regards his encroachment of the statutes of a sports body have been shelved by the rather "complicit" FAM, already running for cover under pressure from the law abiding Male' FC.
Significance
The significance of both these cases and their ramifications will not escape both present and future sports administrators.
Firstly, both cases are rooted in an inability to change. The administration failed to bring about necessary reform from within. Gayyoom's Reform Agenda specified these objectives. He failed miserably.
The government is therefore constantly on the defensive. Those who believe change can only be brought from the outside is having a field day.
The government is therefore hard at work seeking devious escape routes. The Law is interpreted to justify their actions. This is topped off with administrative manipulations such as exchange of backdated correspondence between concerned ministries to build a case.
The exercise however is wearing thin. Especially when the international sports community turns up on the scene.
The entry of the international sports community on the scene is the second development. This occurrence have further complicated things for the government who have been showing them a "democratic face" for the last 30 years.
FIFA backing for the the FAM's flawed process have been quite a bombshell.
I have highlighted in earlier posts how the FIFA representative Dato Paul of the AFC appears to have initiated this flawed process by unilaterally misinterpreting the FIFA Statutes. His decision favoured government manipulation of elections.
The involvement of an important member of the the international sports community have been a pressure on the government. How the government dealt with the issue with the good Dato' leaves much to be desired in terms of best practice.
The third development is the ratification of an amended national constitution that will wrestle the judiciary free from the executive within a phased interim transitional arrangement. The impact of this development on how the court rules in both cases is yet to be seen.
Ratification is the very act that barred civil servants from political lobbying. The macho response to the July-August SAFF Cup Tour have highlighted government meddling in sport.
We must be optimistic. We await what new twists the coming court hearings will bring to Male FC's and Hanim's cases.
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