Author: Zaheena Rasheed

Home Ministry launches investigation of Transparency, TEAM

State Minister for Home Affairs and the Registrar of NGOs Abdulla Mohamed has declared that the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM) and Transparency Maldives (TM) are under investigation for “unlawful acts” and warned NGOs that organisations acting outside of law would be dissolved.

Speaking to local TV station Villa TV (VTV), Abdulla said the Home Ministry is looking into complaints that TEAM had committed “irresponsible and unlawful acts.”

Transparency Maldives is also under investigation for challenging the Supreme Court, he said.

“We will not allow any organisation to challenge the law. NGOs acting outside the law will be dissolved,” Abdulla said.

Abdulla’s warning comes after both TEAM and TM spoke out against a Supreme Court injunction on September 23 ordering the Elections Commission (EC) to delay the second round of presidential elections.

The order came during an ongoing case filed by Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul the vote.

The apex court issued a second injunction on September 26 ordering security forces to ensure compliance with its first injunction. The police then surrounded the EC, shortly before the commission declared conditions unsuitable for the second round to proceed.

TEAM – an industry body representing some 5000 workers across the country’s luxury resorts – criticised the first order, saying it “destroys the principles of democracy we have embraced and voids articles of the constitution.” The union threatened prolonged strikes should polls be delayed.

TM issued a statement on September 26 expressing concern over the Supreme Court’s integrity due to the state’s inaction over Justice Ali Hameed’s leaked sex tapes in which he appears to be fornicating with three foreign women in a Colombo hotel room.

In a second statement on September 28, the NGO called on the Supreme Court to “uphold the spirit of the Constitution and respect people’s electoral choice.”

Transparency Maldives had conducted the most extensive elections observation with 400 observers across 20 atolls. It subsequently questioned the delay of polls after not having received “any reports that suggest systematic fraud in its nationwide observation and no credible evidence that supports such allegations has been made public.”

Secretary General of TEAM, Mauroof Zaki said the Home Ministry had called the organisation’s President Ahmed Shiham inquiring about TEAM issuing a “political” statement.

“Even if the Home Ministry takes us off the register, we will not cease to exist. The Constitution allows freedom of association. The international community and our members accept us. Even if we are dissolved, we will continue our activities with more strength,” Zaki said.

Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed said the organisation is trying to verify the registrar’s comments.

“Transparency Maldives represents Transparency International in the Maldives and operates within the ambit of the law,” he said.

The Maldives Democracy Network and the NGO Federation have also expressed concern over the election delay. They have urged the Supreme Court to deliver a speedy verdict and to allow elections to proceed as per the constitution.

Maldives Port Workers also stopped work for an hour on Sunday in protest against the election delay.

Abdulla Mohamed was the Vice President of the Civil Alliance Coalition of NGOs (Madhanee Iththihad) which was at the forefront of protests in the lead up to the ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

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MDP call for a “people’s government” if no election by November 11

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)  passed a resolution on Sunday (September 29), calling for the establishment of a people’s government headed by the party’s presidential candidate and former president Mohamed Nasheed, if no elected president is sworn in by the end of the current presidential term on November 11.

The resolution comes after the Maldives Police Services forcibly brought run-off preparations to a halt on Friday following a Supreme Court order to delay the second round of presidential elections in an ongoing case filed by third placed Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul the vote.

The MDP emerged as the front-runner with 45.45 percent of the vote in the first round of polls and was set to run against the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), which won 25.35 percent in a second round on September 29.

The resolution, passed with unanimous approval of 78 members, says the party will continue its presidential campaign activities, will actively participate in peaceful political activity to get the right to vote, and is to establish a people’s government if a president is not sworn in by November 11.

“If no elected President is sworn in as per the constitution on 11 November 2013, then the MDP by virtue of the mandate given to them by the first round of the Presidential elections held on 7 September 2013, will work to establish a people’s Government headed by the MDP’s Presidential candidate, President Mohamed Nasheed,” the resolution read.

The party is to hold discussions with all state institutions and the international community to seek their support for the people’s government.

Further, the party has called for civil disobedience and will begin mass protests calling for the establishment of a people’s government, and will carry out political activity in Male’ and the atolls.

According to the resolution, MDP’s campaign offices and atolls will be reactivated and campaign officials are to travel across the country to continue with presidential campaign. Door-to-door activities are to restart.

The PPM’s legal advisor Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim yesterday said that the Supreme Court should decide who to hand the presidency to should presidential elections fail to take place by November 11.

Meanwhile, the Jumhooree Party has criticised the MDP’s resolution as “extremist and harmful” and says the MDP wants to “create strife and plunge the country into a behavioural war by bringing people from the atolls into Malé.”

In a statement released on Sunday, the party said it wants a speedy verdict in the Supreme Court case and said “the Jumhooree Coalition will obey any Supreme Court verdict that calls for a revote and ensures first round’s fraud is not repeated.”

The Maldives’ first round of polling has received praise from international and domestic observers, whilst the Supreme Court’s decision to delay polls has been met with global and domestic concern.

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PPM seeks to remove MPs from Majlis for contempt of court

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has said it will seek to remove MPs from the People’s Majlis through the Supreme Court, for contempt of court over their challenging of the apex court’s  order to delay the second round of presidential polls.

Several MPs of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) have spoken out against a Supreme Court’s order to delay polls in an ongoing case filed by third placed Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul the vote. The court issued a second injunction on Friday ordering the security forces to halt the Elections Commission and other parties from proceeding with polls.

Following the second injunction, the police surrounded the Elections Commission on Friday and forcibly brought preparations for the runoff to a halt. The MDP won 45.45 percent in the first round and was set to compete with the PPM in runoff polls on Saturday.

Speaking to the press today, PPM’s legal advisor Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim said, “There is a dispute on whether [MPs] have lost their seats in parliament due to speaking out against Maldives’ Supreme Court’s order and defaming the Supreme Court, and other court’s judges. I would like to inform you we will file this case at the Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, MDP MPs Alhan Fahmy and Imthiyaz Fahmy received police summons for an investigation into contempt of court. The police told Minivan News more MPs are under investigation, but declined to reveal names.

A police summons sent to Alhan and uploaded on Twitter states the MP is being investigated for “threatening judges and their families and contempt of court at a protest outside the Supreme Court on 23 September 2013.”

PPM’s legal advisor Waheed said the list of MPs they are seeking to disqualify from parliament “is long”. Furthermore, the PPM said it would not hesitate to file complaints against Speaker Abdulla Shahid if he had spoken out against the apex court’s order. Abdulla Shahid defected to the MDP in April.

Waheed also said the PPM believes the Supreme Court should decide who to hand the presidency to should presidential elections fail to take place by the end of the presidential term on November 11.

The MDP and its ally the DRP now control 39 out of 77 seats in the Majlis; a simple majority. The two parties passed a resolution on Monday ordering the EC to proceed with polls as planned, and called for the security forces to support the EC. However, the resolution was ignored in favor of the Supreme Court order.

The MDP has said it will utilise its simple majority to seek no-confidence motions against three ministers and the Prosecutor General.

In a statement on Saturday, the PPM has praised the Supreme Court’s election delay orders as a “giant stride forward in championing the constitutional rights of the Maldivian people.”

PPM contends that the court has sole and final jurisdiction to determine all disputes concerning presidential elections and is the final authority on interpretation of the constitution.

“Members of the MDP are breaking law and order continuously even now and spreading false information among the public, while also misguiding the international community,” the statement read.

The PPM has supported JP’s case to annul the vote, and has filed a separate case to delay polls to allow the party time to campaign.

The MDP has repeatedly criticised the Supreme Court for Justice Ali Hameed’s continued presence on the bench despite the leak of three sex videos in which Hameed appears to be fornicating with three different foreign women in a Colombo hotel room.

The UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, in a damning report in May expressed concern over “inadequate and politicised” composition of the JSC and “shock” that members of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, held memberships in political parties.

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Nasheed appeals to Chief Justice and generals to ensure run-off proceeds as scheduled

Ousted president and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed has appealed to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and military generals to ensure run-off polls take place as scheduled on Saturday.

Four of seven Supreme Court judges signed an order on Monday ordering the Elections Commission (EC) to delay the second round of elections, in an ongoing case filed by the third-placed Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul the vote.

Nasheed emerged the front-runner with 45.45 percent of the vote (95,224 votes), followed by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen who received 25.35 percent (53,099 votes).

Speaking to thousands on supporters at Raalhugandu in Male’ on Wednesday night, Nasheed condemned Faiz’s complicity in Justice Ali Hameed’s continued presence on the Supreme Court bench despite the leak of three sex videos which appear to show Hameed fornicating with three foreign women in a Colombo hotel room.

“In my opinion, it is the Chief Justice who must take responsibility for all that is happening now. Faiz. The Chief Justice should not have to hold court with lewd judges who have lost integrity. Our laws, holy Islamic principles and our norms do not allow for that. When I appointed him as the Chief Justice, I did not believe he would do such wrong,” Nasheed said.

“The Chief Justice, with Ali Hameed there [at court], should not have to decide on 95,000 peoples, or even two million people’s votes. I call on the Chief Justice tonight, repeatedly, do not do this. With Ali Hameed there, do not decide the future of the Maldives,” he continued.

Nasheed then appealed to the military generals’ sense of decency, asking, “Where are the professional colonels and generals? Where is your shame? Where is your smallest amount of loyalty to the Maldivian citizens? Evil wins in this world when good people fail to take action,” he said.

“We will not see you as professional, as honorable, even with all of your medals if you let Maldives adrift. I implore General Nilam, and General Shamal to stop taking part in these shameful activities, to come out and save the Maldives. If you have any loyalty, an atom’s worth of love for your country, you soldiers, you judges will not allow our country to go down this path,” Nasheed said.

The Elections Commission has maintained JP’s allegations to be baseless, and even if proven true, would not affect the first round outcome. Further, holding an election after September 28 will be “logistically near-impossible,” Vice President Ahmed Fayaz has said.

The international community has also expressed alarm over the sudden suspension and stressed the importance of run-off polls to proceed as planned.

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Nasheed calls for tourism workers to strike should election be delayed

Former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed has called on tourism workers to strike, should run-off elections scheduled for September 28 be delayed.

Following Nasheed’s appeal, the Maldives Association for Tourism Industries (MATI) issued a statement warning of “irreparable consequences” to the Maldivian economy unless the election is expedited.

“It is absolutely important to expedite the election and settle the issue or else there would be irreparable consequences to the Maldives, and especially to tourism which is the back bone of the economy. Therefore, it is important for everyone to see the importance of this in the interest of the country at large,” said MATI Chairman M.U. Manik, one of pioneers of the country’s 40 year-old tourism industry.

The Supreme Court ordered the Elections Commission (EC) on Monday to indefinitely postpone run-off polls until it issues a verdict in an ongoing case filed by the Jumhooree Party, which placed third and is now seeking to annul the vote.

Nasheed emerged as the front runner in the first round of the polls with 45.45 percent (95,224 votes), followed by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen who received 25.35 percent (53,099 votes). JP candidate and resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim narrowly missed out on the run-off with 24.07 percent (50,422), and contested the results at the Supreme Court alleging electoral fraud despite unanimous positive assessments of polls by local and international election observers.

“I call on tourist workers to strike if there is no election on Saturday. For everyone to strike. There is an election scheduled on Saturday – whether that election happens or not is in one sense in your hands and mine,” Nasheed told tourism workers, at an event on Monday evening to explain the party’s manifesto.

Secretary General of the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM), Mauroof Zakir, told Minivan News the organisation was holding discussions on whether to endorse Nasheed’s call.

“We are discussing whether TEAM as an organisation will back [Nasheed’s] call or leave it up to individual resort workers. We have to think about the consequences on employees’ jobs. Many resort workers are calling us and are saying they are willing to go on strike, but in such a way that resorts continue to operate,” Mauroof said.

The tourism industry is indirectly responsible for upwards of 70 percent of the Maldives’ GDP, and a substantial majority of Maldivian resort workers support the MDP.

Results from resort ballot boxes in the first round revealed overwhelming support for the party, even at many properties owned by Nasheed’s political opponents such as Vice President Waheed Deen’s Bandos Island Resort (51 percent MDP).

The trend was particularly notable at prominent international chains in the luxury tourism sector, famous for providing relaxing and idyllic escapes for honeymooners, including Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort and Spa (58 percent MDP), Dusit Thaani Maldives (73 percent MDP), Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort (62 percent MDP), and One and Only Reethi Rah (75 percent MDP).

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb has meanwhile told local media he will not allow politicians to sacrifice the tourism industry and its workers, and appealed to staff not to strike.

“They plan and involve the tourism industry every time there is political turmoil, every time things do not happen as they want. They called for a tourism boycott in international media. There were effects from that. We are seeing the same thing now. We cannot allow any politician to involve the tourism industry in politics. We cannot allow politicians to sacrifice the tourism industry and its workers every time things are politically turbulent,” he told newspaper Haveeru.

The Supreme Court will be hearing closing arguments this evening.

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EC continues run-off preparations, stresses supremacy of constitution

The Elections Commission (EC) has said it will continue with preparations for the second round of presidential elections – scheduled for September 28 – and has stressed the supremacy of the constitution following conflicting orders by the Majlis and Supreme Court on a polling date.

The Majlis passed a resolution yesterday during a heated session, ordering the Elections Commission to proceed with polls as planned, as the Jumhooree Party (JP) seeks to annul the vote at the Supreme Court.

The apex court at 9:00 pm last night issued an order indefinitely postponing the run-off until it issues a verdict.

“We have not stopped any of our preparations,” President of the Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek told the press today. He then held up the constitution, saying “The main document we must follow is the constitution. The Constitution along with the election laws and regulations states how and when to hold elections.”

Vice President Ahmed Fayaz declined to comment on which order the EC would follow, saying the commission was in discussions with the Supreme Court, Majlis, and the President’s Office on a polling date.

Fayaz also stressed the supremacy of the constitution saying, “The Supreme Court, the presidency, Majlis, state institutions – all exist through the constitution and therefore cannot act against the constitution.”

“We may receive an order to proceed with polls, we cannot throw up our hands and go to sleep. We have to be ready at any point,” Fayaz added.

Fayaz pointed to a Supreme Court ruling at 8:00 pm on February 4, 2011, in which it had ordered the EC to proceed with local council elections in Addu City the next day. At the time, the Civil Court had ordered the EC to halt polls over a dispute to provide city status to Addu Atoll.

Delaying polls would be “logistically near-impossible,” Fayaz said. Polling booths are set up in school buildings throughout the country, he explained, but schools would not be available for polling between October 5 and late November as secondary school students sit for the GCSE O’Level exams.

The court ruling to delay polls was signed by four of the seven Supreme Court Judges – Justice Abdulla Saeed, Justice Ali Hameed, Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, and Justice Dr Abdulla Didi.

“Based on Article 144 (b), we order the Elections Commission and other relevant state institutions to delay the second round of the presidential election scheduled for 28 September 2013 until the Supreme Court issues a verdict in this case,” the injunction read.

The EC maintains that the JP’s allegations of electoral fraud are unsubstantiated and, even if proven, would still be insufficient to affect the outcome of the first round election results.

Meanwhile, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – whose candidate Mohamed Nasheed polled first on September 7 – have taken to the streets in protest, having previously made clear that it would not allow a Supreme Court bench “consisting of disgraced judges accused of lewd conduct” to “abrogate the will of the people.”

Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed has been implicated in a series of sex videos, but the judicial oversight body Judicial Services Commission (JSC) decided not to suspend the judge – against the advice of  a subcommittee it set up to investigate the matter.

The JP’s presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim was a member of the JSC at the time of this decision.

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Busting black magic on Guraidhoo

Aishath Moomina, a janitress at Kaafu Atoll Guraidhoo Island School, was attending to her usual early morning sweeping duties on September 3, when she found a kihaa (young coconut) with Arabic inscriptions buried outside the school gates.

Only a few days remained for the first round of presidential polls and ballot booths were to be set up at the school. That very same day, Moomina started to feel uncharacteristically tired and her skin started to burn.

“That’s when I knew it was black magic. This [black magic] happens every time there is an election,” she told Minivan News.

Guraidhoo, located 30 kilometers south of Malé and home to the country’s only home for people with special needs, is now at the centre of an election-related fanditha or black magic controversy. Since the discovery of the kihaa, various items with Qura’nic verses have been found in Guraidhoo School and throughout the island.

As a run-off election scheduled between the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) approaches on September 28, “cursed objects” have popped up in Fuvahmulah, Hithadhoo, Kudahuvadhoo and Velidhoo Islands.

Though the first round of polls went well, Moomina said that several students have had fainting spells, seizures, and have started to exhibit symptoms such as incoherent muttering, fainting, uncontrollable crying and tiredness.

On Sunday (September 22), Minivan News went to Guraidhoo Island to speak to residents on fanditha’s effect on the vote, finding a wide-spread deep belief in the supernatural, which combined with a tense presidential poll, has increased paranoia within the community.

This has spurred a group of men to actively patrol the two schools where polling booths will be placed and conduct a drive to undo the effects of fanditha.

Vote madness

The intense rivalry between political parties is evident on Guraidhoo’s narrow streets. The MDP’s yellow, the PPM’s pink and Jumhooree Party’s red flags fight for space, while political party campaign offices blast campaign songs at ear-drum shattering volume. Many islanders spoke of family members falling out and long-time neighbors refusing to speak to one another due to differences in political ideologies.

“There is a lot of turmoil in the island. People have gone mad for the vote,” said Faristha, a 47-year-old woman who discovered three Qurans buried in the lagoon. She believes the three Qurans buried in Guraidhoo’s lagoons are powerful black magic, as tradition dictates that the Quran only be disposed of in the open ocean or fast-flowing rivers.

“Black magic exists. If you believe in Allah and the prophet, then you must believe in djinns and black magic. The Quran says they exist. No man in their sane mind would throw away the Qurans like that,” she said waving her arms in anger.

Black magic is a crime punishable by death under the Islamic Shariah. While there are no legal sanctions or penalties against black magic in the written laws and regulations, the Maldives Police Services had arrested MDP activists and raided MDP protest camps on suspicion of black magic following the controversial transfer of power of February 2012.

With the proliferation of cursed objects, the Islamic Ministry released a sermon on Friday proclaiming black magic to be among the most evil of sins.

Black magic busters

Hassan Shuzeym, 35, is an artist, a caretaker at Guraidhoo’s Home for People with Special Needs, and now leader of the drive to undo black magic. Sitting at one of Guraidhoo’s newly opened guesthouses, the slim, dark-skinned Shuzeym told us how he organizes a 20-man patrol from dusk til dawn in order to ensure cursed objects are no longer buried at the schools.

A culture of performing black magic to coerce love or for personal gain had always existed on the island, Shuzeym told us over cigarettes and coffee. But black magic to influence votes on a large scale was new, he said.

“This magic is being done to change people’s hearts about their votes. But it’s only affecting the students who study at the school. We want to minimize the harm caused to people from the black magic.”

Shuzeym and his friends dig up objects and perform counter spells to cancel out their magic.

“In places where it is too dangerous to dig them out, we read surahs (chapters) of the Quran and sprinkle water on the area to cancel out their powers,” he said.

When asked how they knew where to look for cursed objects, Shuzeym told us with a mysterious look, “I can only tell you it is not with the help of humans.”

With their black-magic busting work, patrolling and observation teams, Shuzeym is confident the vote would be safe from all external influences.

As we left the guesthouse, we encountered a young MDP supporter who stopped us. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the young man told us he and his friends had performed one of the “black magic acts” that had created a furor in the island.

“I think the coconut is a fake, I believe black magic exists, but that coconut didn’t look real. I think it is by those who oppose us to intimidate us, so we spilled lots of water around all the entrances around both schools, just for a joke. We did not think anyone would take us seriously,” he said.

However, upon discovering water at the entrances, the janitors at Guraidhoo School stopped all students from entering the school premises until the school’s headmaster arrived and permitted them to do so.

“In the end, even if the coconut is fake, it has only been positive. We have more security for the vote,” the young man added.

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Extraordinary Majlis session cancelled amid chaos, vandalism in chamber

An extraordinary meeting of the People’s Majlis was cancelled today after Speaker Abdulla Shahid’s microphone was vandalised during a Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP)-led effort to disrupt parliamentary proceedings.

Twenty-nine MPs of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had asked Shahid to schedule an extraordinary sitting claiming certain politicians were “destroying constitutional tenets and straying from the path of democracy”, as the JP seeks to annul the first round of September’s presidential polls in the Supreme Court.

Vilifushi MP Riyaz Rasheed and Gemanafushi MP Ilham Ahmed blew on whistles and vuvuzelas as PPM and JP members raised numerous points of order and shouted “rigged vote.”

Shahid took a short break at 10:00am to speak with Parliamentary Group leaders, but was unable to reconvene the session after a cable on his table microphone was cut.

The MDP – which placed first with 45.45 percent of the vote – has said it will table a no confidence motion against Attorney General Azima Shakoor after she intervened in support of the JP and change the composition of the Supreme Court bench.

The MDP and its recent ally the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) control a majority in the Majlis with a combined strength of 39 of the 77 MPs.

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‘Leaked’ police intelligence report “baseless speculation”: MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has slammed a leaked police intelligence report circulating on social media alleging election impropriety as “baseless speculation”.

The report (Dhivehi) alleged “some opportunity for fraud” and “illegal voting”, claiming 18,486 irregularities on the voter registry including 588 dead people, 1865 individuals without national identity cards, 39 underage cases and 10,023 address mismatches.

Police have declined to comment on the authenticity of the report, but said such a report could not have been leaked from their offices. Attorney General Azima Shakoor has used the report’s findings in an ongoing Supreme Court case filed by third place candidate Gasim Ibrahim to annul September’s presidential polls.

MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy claimed the report’s arguments were “baseless allegations, lies manufactured by senior policemen who overthrew the country’s first democratically elected government.”

President Mohamed Nasheed resigned publicly in February 2012 after sections of the police and military mutinied, took over state media, vandalised MDP offices and beat MDP supporters. Nasheed is now the front-runner in September’s presidential polls with 45.45 percent of the vote. Run-off elections are set for September 28.

International and domestic observers have praised a free and fair election process in the Maldives, and have called for a the second round of polling to proceed as planned.

“Every election will have small irregularities. But none of those highlighted will affect the outcome,” Imthiyaz noted.

Irregularities

The report compared the voter’s registry published on May 30, changes in voter registry on June 29, to the Department of National Registration’s database.

“It is not possible to say with certainty whether people acted on [irregularities] noted, unless we are able to check the list of voters used at voting booths,” the report noted. However, it contends “opportunity exists” for repeated voting, the dead and underage voting and usage of fake identity cards.

The report also raises questions over the high voter turnout, the Elections Commission’s database security, usage of counterfeit ballot papers, and presence of foreign staff at the EC on voting day.

“The election of 2008 was one in which many people desired change and voted. However, polls during this election show a high percentage of undecided voters. Even in the 2008’s runoff election when people wanted change, the turn out was 86 percent. That 88 percent people voted this time can be questioned,” the report read.

Police intelligence had alerted the commission on attempts to hack into its server, but no action had been taken, the report alleges. But, the police are “not certain if compromising information was leaked” but believe the server contained sensitive information.

The report recommends publication of the list of those who had voted on September 7, an audit of the EC’s servers, random sampling of ballot papers to check authenticity, increase in security features on the ballot papers, block foreign staff’s access to the EC on voting day and a recount.

“Based on the above, we believe there are things that may affect results of the election, and therefore believe a recount of votes may assuage doubts and decrease incidence of violence,” the report said.

The EC had previously acknowledged attacks on its server, but refuted claims of security breach and dismissed fears raised by the Jumhooree Party (JP) and Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM)’s fears that foreign IT workers would be given access to electoral databases.

Ongoing court case

Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim is seeking to annul the results of the first round in the Supreme Court, after narrowly missing the run off with 24.07 percent of the vote.

The PPM has sided with the JP in court, while Attorney General Azima Shukoor has intervened on behalf of the government and called for police to investigate the EC.

The EC has so far disputed allegations of electoral impropriety, noting that allegations raised so far even if factual would have no material effect on the outcome of the first round, and pointed to unanimous endorsement of the election’s credibility by local and international observers.

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