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Like the Olympics, President Gayoom also chose 8-8-08 as the lucky day for the launch of his campaign and he did it in Olympic style, complete with the “Bugler’s Dream” theme that NBC uses for the Olympics. The background featured larger-than-life pictures of the president and his running mate. The campaign logo is an outstretched hand holding up five fingers. I thought it was “five more years” because that is the length of the president’s term under the new constitution, but DRP members tell me it is actually the five principles of Islam.

The campaign launch also featured members of the Maldivian National Soccer Team. Gayoom’s party implied that the appearance was a team endorsement of the president’s candidacy. And that’s a problem for FIFA, the international governing body of “football.” Players are not supposed to get involved with religion or politics. The players are now under investigation.