Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Maldives
conventional short form:
Maldives
local long form:
Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa
local short form:
Dhivehi Raajje
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Male
geographic coordinates:
4 10 N, 73 30 E
time difference:
UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
7 provinces and 1 municipality*; Dhekunu (South), Maale*, Mathi Dhekunu (Upper South), Mathi Uthuru (Upper North), Medhu (Central), Medhu Dhekunu (South Central), Medhu Uthuru (North Central), Uthuru (North)
Independence:
26 July 1965 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 July (1965)
Constitution:
many previous; latest ratified 7 August 2008 (2010)
Legal system:
Islamic religious legal system with English common law influences, primarily in commercial matters
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom (since 17 November 2013); Vice President Mohamed JAMEEL Ahmed (since 17 November 2013) note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom (since 17 November 2013); Vice President Mohamed JAMEEL Ahmed (since 17 November 2013)
cabinet:
Cabinet of Ministers is appointed by the president
elections:
president elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election held on 7 September 2013 was annulled by the Supreme Court; rerun of first round held on 9 November 2013 and runoff held on 16 November (next election to be held in 2018)
election results:
first round (9 November 2013); percent of vote - Mohamed NASHEED 46.9%, Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom 29.7%, Qasim IBRAHIM 23.3%; runoff (postponed to 16 November 2013); percent of vote - Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom elected president 51.4%, Mohamed NASHEED 48.6%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or People's Majlis (77 seats; members elected by direct vote to serve five-year terms); note - the Majlis in February 2009 passed legislation that increased the number of seats to 77 from 50
elections:
last held on 9 May 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
election results:
percent of vote - NA; seats by party as of February 2013 - MDP 29, PPM 18, DRP 14, JP 6, PA 2, DQP 1, independents 7
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 judges)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges appointed by the president in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission - a separate body of selected high government officials and the public - and upon confirmation by voting members of the People's Council; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts:
High Court; Criminal, Civil, Family, Juvenile, and Drug Courts; Magistrate Courts (on each of the inhabited islands)
Political parties and leaders:
Adhaalath (Justice) Party or AP [Sheikh Imran ABDULLA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: various unregistered political parties
International organization participation:
ADB, AOSIS, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed SAREER (since 11 January 2013)
chancery:
800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400E, New York, NY 10017
telephone:
[1] (212) 599-6194
FAX:
[1] (212) 599-6195
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, currently Ambassador Michele J. SISON, is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits
Flag description:
red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent moon; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag; red recalls those who have sacrificed their lives in defense of their country, the green rectangle represents peace and prosperity, and the white crescent signifies Islam
National symbol(s):
coconut palm, yellowfin tuna
National anthem:
name: "Gaumee Salaam" (National Salute)
lyrics/music: Mohamed Jameel DIDI/Wannakuwattawaduge DON AMARADEVA
note: lyrics adopted 1948, music adopted 1972; between 1948 and 1972, the lyrics were sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne"
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Maldives on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Maldives Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Maldives Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14