Day: August 28, 2013

Senior PPM official files Supreme Court case against Elections Commission

The Supreme Court is to hold the first hearing into a case against the Elections Commission (EC) filed by a senior member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

PPM Appeal Committee member Ahmed Zaneen Adam filed a case against the EC with the Supreme Court on Monday (August 26), requesting the court order an independent audit of the commission’s IT systems to “ensure they are credible”, and to order state security forces to “ensure the election does not face any undue influence”.

Adam claimed the case was filed in his “personal capacity” and not on behalf of his party – who have denied knowledge of the case.  The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has disputed this claim.

Adam’s submission also requested the court determine whether the voter re-registration process had been conducted fairly, and asked the court to order the EC to place a copy of the original electoral register – signed by all presidential candidates – in all polling stations.

The Supreme Court has accepted the case and scheduled the first hearing at 2:00pm on Thursday (August 29).

“I have not been informed whether the party has submitted a case to the Supreme Court concerning the competency of the Elections Commission’s work,” PPM MP and Spokesperson Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News today.

Nihan claimed that the party was cautious of backing any action that could compromise the election scheduled for September 7.

“I certainly believe that we do not want to take any action that would halt the election. We have to be very careful going forward,” he said. “We will have to wait to see if anything is submitted.”

The Supreme Court hearing follows a series of recent complaints against the EC issued by both the PPM and Jumhoree Party (JP).  The PPM claimed last week their concerns had gone “unaddressed” and they would seek a legal resolution against the Commission.

PPM vice presidential candidate and former Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed is heading the party’s legal team concerning the issues it has raised against the EC.

PPM trying to delay elections: MDP

“The PPM wants to delay elections or have the Supreme Court intervene to do so,” said MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy.

“I haven’t seen PPM conducting nationwide campaigning. They just started conducting door to door campaigning two weeks ago,” Fahmy continued. “They are delayed or not ready for elections at all.”

Fahmy alleged that the PPM would have known Adam was filing a case against the EC and that Adam would not have acted without the party’s consent, given his leadership role.

“As a member of PPM’s Appeals Committee, he would not have taken action without the PPM’s consent and approval,” he said.

“If Adam were a member of an MDP committee and wanted to take legal action in a personal capacity, the party would not allow that,” he added.

Fahmy said be believed the PPM would not succeed in delaying the presidential election considering the EC was constitutionally established as an independent commission and had successfully carried out every democratic election in the country since its inception.

“The Commission has already set the date for elections, all the preparations have been made, the voter registry list has been completed, and political parties – especially the MDP – are ready for elections,” he noted.

“The Supreme Court should reject the PPM case because it is not within their mandate to stop elections, they should not intervene,” Fahmy continued.

“People all over the Maldives are ready for the election. If something unexpected happens it will be a really big issue that people will not accept at all. I don’t think the Supreme Court will take that action,” he added.

MDP to enter the fray

The MDP today submitted a petition to the Supreme Court to join the case as a third party. However, the court rejected this application due to a “technical problem”, Fahmy stated.

He explained that the court had asked for more details in the paperwork, despite the documents submitted by the PPM not being provided.

The MDP’s legal team plans to re-submit the appropriate paperwork tomorrow morning in a process one party lawyer said can be completed in minutes.

“We will submit our application to join the case as a third party tomorrow morning. MDP not only has an interest in the case, but a jurisdictional right to join the case,” he continued.

“There are no grounds for the PPM to question [the EC’s work] by submitting a case against them. They have conducted their work and dispersed information very transparently,” he added.

Elections Commission Chair Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz, and PPM vice presidential candidate Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed had not responded to requests for information at time of press.

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Arbitration tribunal in GMR hearing agrees separate assessment of liability

The GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (GMR-MAHB) consortium has won an early legal skirmish in the Singapore-based arbitration hearings into its US$1.4 billion compensation claim for early termination of its contract by the Maldivian government.

GMR-MAHB won a concession agreement to manage and upgrade Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) under the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration, which was ousted from power on 7 February 2012 amid protests and a police mutiny.

The new government, comprising a coalition of former opposition parties under current President Mohamed Waheed, declared in late 2012 that GMR-MAHB’s agreement was ‘void ab initio’ (invalid from the outset) and gave the developer seven days’ notice to leave the country.

The US$511 million agreement was at the time the country’s single largest foreign investment. According to the government’s own engineering assessment, the development was 25 percent complete at the time GMR-MAHB was evicted.

The consortium has since lodged a US$1.4 billion claim with the Singapore Court of Arbitration, an amount eclipsing the Maldives’ annual state budget. The government is being represented by a Singapore National University Professor M. Sonarajam, while GMR-MAHB is being represented by former Chief Justice of the UK, Lord Nicholas Edison Phillips. The arbitrator is retired senior UK Judge, Lord Leonard Hubert Hoffman.

Latest hearings

During the second round of procedural hearings earlier this month, the tribunal acceded to GMR-MAHB’s request to split the proceedings into firstly determining liability, before quantifying the amount of compensation to be paid separately.

Minivan News understands that the tribunal agreed this would simplify examination and quantification of what was effectively three claims being made in the hearing: GMR-MAHB’s claim for compensation as per the termination clause of its concession agreement, its parallel claim for loss of profits over the lifespan of the agreement due to its termination, and the government’s counter-claim for restitution should the tribunal decide in its favour.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the government’s legal team opposed splitting the proceedings in such a fashion as they had not had access to GMR-MAHB’s documentation, and would therefore be unable to assess the scope of the claim at stake.

Minivan News understands that the tribunal rejected the government’s position on the grounds that it would be quicker, fairer and less costly to resolve the case by first determining liability for each of the claims, and then quantifying these.

Separate development paths

Local media has meanwhile reported that Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), which took over management of the airport following the government’s eviction of the foreign investor, has sought a US$150 million loan from Thailand’s Exim Bank for the construction of a new runway.

Sun Online reported MACL Managing Director Bandhu Saleem as stating that MACL’s three-year development project, involving reclamation of land for the runway and development of a new terminal, would cost a total of US$380 million.

“The terminal is being designed. The funding will be available in the next six months or so. We are planning to start the construction of the terminal as soon as the runway is completed,” Saleem reportedly told Sun.

Future development of the airport and fallout from the arbitration proceedings is likely to be affected by the upcoming election.

Of the four presidential candidates contesting the presidential election on September 7, both resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim and incumbent President Mohamed Waheed have taken strongly nationalistic positions on MACL retaining full control (and responsibility for financing) the airport’s development.

Gasim’s running mate, Dr Hassan Saeed, was an early and emphatic proponent of GMR-MAHB’s eviction, previously issued a pamphlet calling for the cancellation of the agreement and likening it to “taking bitter medicine to cure a disease” or “amputating an organ to stop the spread of cancer.”

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), a major opponent of the MDP’s government’s signing of the concession agreement, has in recent months appeared to have taken a more conciliatory position, blaming the fallout of the agreement’s sudden cancellation on President Waheed.

“We told the next President Mr Waheed that he should hold discussions with the GMR Group and the Indian government to arrive at an acceptable solution, after which the government was free to act on its own,” PPM head and former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom told Indian media in June. “Unfortunately, this was not done and suddenly there was this unhappy ending.”

The MDP has meanwhile signalled that if elected, it intends to negotiate the return of the developer. Construction of the new terminal was originally pegged for completion by 2014.

“The coup government nullified the agreement, and we will see how best to rectify it,” former Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee told Minivan News.

“If need be we will go to the Majlis. Our objective is to get work restarted as quickly as possible,” he said.

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Thinadhoo Regional Hospital renamed to honour late foreign minister

The name of Thinadhoo Regional Hospital has been changed to Dr Samad Memorial Hospital, President Mohamed Waheed announced yesterday (August 28), reports local media.

Waheed was advised by his cabinet members to change the hospital’s name to “create a long lasting tribute” to the late Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla.

A special remembrance meeting will be held in tribute to Samad’s “distinguished services” – a scholarship has already been announced in his memory.

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Police hold election operation briefing

An ‘Operation Blue Waves’ briefing was held for commissioned police officers who will lead internal security in the greater Male’ area today, reports the Maldives Police Service (MPS).

The head of Central Operations Command and the head of Operation Blue Waves conducted the briefing, held last night (August 27).

Information on the operational plan for the Male’ area and the different operational phases were discussed, while police officers were assigned to specific areas and given various operational tasks.

Other briefing attendees included the Divisional Operation Command Head and Deputy Head, Assistant Police Commissioner Farhadh Fikry, as well as the Commander of Operation Blue Waves for Male’ area, Chief Inspector of Police Abdulla Shareef.

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Police ask PG to charge Sri Lankan woman and Maldivian man for fornication

Police have concluded the investigation into a case where a Maldivian man and a Sri Lankan woman are alleged to have had sex in Hulhumale’, and have sent the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.

In a statement issued the police identified the two as Mohamed Didi, 41, of Male and Dhamika Siriyala, 41, from Sri Lanka.

Police said on May 13, 2013, they were caught inside a room in Hulhumale’ rented on a daily basis.

The investigation into the case was concluded on August 25 and sent to PG the same day.

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Maldives economy “seriously damaged and destroyed”: former President Gayoom

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has expressed concern that the Maldivian economy has been “seriously damaged and destroyed”.

Speaking during a campaign rally on the island of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Leader Gayoom was quoted by Sun Online expressing concern at the “serious economic problems” presently facing the country.

Gayoom argued that PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen was the most capable person to save the country’s economy based on his previous government experience.

The PPM, which has the second highest number of MPs behind the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), is part of the current coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed that came to power after the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012.

The former President’s concerns were raised as the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) this month criticised current levels of government expenditure as being “beyond appropriate”.

However, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad responded at the time that efforts had been successful over the last twelve months to curb recurrent government expenditure, while state borrowing had remained consistent.

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Jumhoree Party rejects accusations of campaign bribery

The Jumhoree Party (JP) has rejected accusations of directly giving money or any other incentive to the public during campaigning for the upcoming presidential election, after several rivals raised concerns.

Both the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have slammed the JP this week, accusing senior campaigners in the party of directly providing money and goods to the public to try and buy votes.

JP Deputy Leader Dr Ibrahim Didi today told Minivan News that “no donations” had been made through the campaign offices of its presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim or his coalition partners ahead of polling, scheduled for September 7.

He insisted that although donations such as scholarships and school equipment had continued to be given through the Villa Foundation – a charity established by Gasim – these were not political gestures.

Didi claimed that, as well as sending some 200 Villa scholars abroad, the foundation – which is run separately from the JP – had for decades been providing vital equipment to schools and health centres across the country independently of the JP.

Gasim will stand in the election as the candidate for a coalition of parties including the JP, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).

“Dumping money”

The PPM, whose presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen will be standing against Gasim next month, has alleged that the JP has been providing donations directly from its campaign office in the build up to September’s vote, effectively “dumping money” in certain parts of the country.

PPM MP Ahmed Nihan claimed that while he respected the work of Gasim’s Villa Foundation in the Maldives, there had been “very clear” attempts by the coalition of parties backing his election to offer voters financial incentives, particularly over the last one and a half months.

“I do not think it is the Villa Foundation that has been providing televisions and refrigerators to households,” Nihan said.

Nihan, who reiterated his respect for Gasim as a fellow parliamentarian and one of the country’s highest profile business figures, said that the level of donations being made by the presidential candidate and his supporters was “questionable” for a democratic system.

“One of Gasim’s main plus points is that he has lots of money. He is definitely using it,” he said.

Nihan accused Gasim of trying to financially influence voting, both for the upcoming election and during the country’s first multi-party democratic vote in 2008, arguing that a growing number of young voters between the ages of 19 and 35 years would be aware of attempts to influence them.

He argued that the PPM’s island council by-election victory against the JP in Nolhivaram in Haa Dhaalu Atoll on Saturday (August 24) had indicated that Gasim’s alleged spending and donations would not translate to polling success.

“We are running a democratic campaign. We don’t have the money to provide televisions and refrigerators like the JP,” he added.

Nihan alleged that the majority of Gasim’s political supporters were only interested in profiting from the tycoon by getting what he claimed was a “quick buck” ahead of voting, and cited his previous unsuccessful campaign to stand for the presidency in 2008.

“[These supporters] will abandon Gasim after the election just like what happened in 2008,” he said.

Gasim unsuccessfully contested in the 2008 presidential elections finishing the race in fourth place, with 15.2 percent of the total vote.

He finished behind candidates including then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, eventual winner Mohamed Nasheed, and the current JP running mate, Dr Hassan Saeed.

Official complaint

The opposition MDP, represented in the upcoming election by former President Nasheed, has filed a case with the country’s Elections Commission (EC) concerning campaigning by Gasim’s coalition.

MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor accused the JP of “unashamedly” trying to buy votes for the election.

“They believe this is how it has to be done. You give people things and they will vote for you,” he said. “They are oblivious to the fact that the world has changed. We are hearing that some people might accept money [they are offered by a candidate] and still vote for the candidate they want.”

The MDP also today criticised First Lady Ilham Hussain over reports in local media that she had donated MVR 100,000 (US$6500) to Mulaku School in Meemu Atoll, accusing her of trying to buy votes for President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s campaign.

Abbas Adil Riza, a spokesperson for President Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) was not responding to calls at time of press.

Addressing complaints filed over campaign spending, Elections Commissioner  Fuwad Thowfeek today told newspaper Haveeru that any kind of donations by candidates contesting in next month’s presidential vote could potentially undermine the electoral process.

Thowfeek said that in light of allegations of bribery being raised with the commission, he believed it would be best to halt “social assistance” until voting next month had concluded.

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Shaheed more “actor than rapporteur”: Iran’s human rights chief

Iranian officials have accused former Maldivian foreign minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, subsequently appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, of failing to perform his duties adequately.

The Secretary General of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights  labelled Dr Shaheed “more of an actor than a rapporteur”, suggesting that he had been acting like an inspector rather than a rapporteur according to the Tehran Times.

Mohammad Javad Larijani at the same time rejected Shaheed’s requests to visit the Islamic republic, stating: “I believe that the request is not serious.”

“I believe that in view of the measures taken by Ahmed Shaheed and the show of interviews launched by him, he is more of an actor than a rapporteur,” he added.

Dr Shaheed was appointed Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran in 2011 – the first time a Maldivian has held such a position.

The decision to establish a Special Rapporteur on Iran was made in 2011 after the deterioration of human rights in the country following the 2009 election.

The mandate for the position includes investigating human rights abuses and undertaking country visits in order to report back to the General Assembly.

The Tehran Times also quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, who also attacked Dr Shaheed.

“He has not acted fairly and has played the role of the opposition, and his measures have been outside the purview of a UN rapporteur,” the paper quoted Abbas Araqchi as saying.

The spokesman is reported to have said that Iran has no intention of allowing Shaheed into the country until his approach is “modified”.

Shaheed is scheduled to report his recent findings to the General Assembly in October.

In his last report in March, he informed the UN Human Rights Council that Iran’s human rights violations had increased in the past two years.

In a list of recommendations, he urged Iran to “extend its full cooperation to the country mandate-holder by engaging in a substantive and constructive dialogue and facilitating a visit the country.”

Iran’s official response to this report described it as “biased” and as disregarding the “realities on the ground” and “principles of transparency, fairness and impartiality”.

Speaking with the Canadian media last month, Dr Shaheed had expressed hope that the new administration of President Hasan Rohani would result in greater opportunities for dialogue.

“Skepticism borne out of previous experience should not make us blind to opportunities,” he told the New Canadian Media website.

Shaheed’s chief critic, Larijani, made headlines last year when he reportedly described homosexuality as a “disease”.

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Judge’s public sexual misconduct charge upheld

The High Court yesterday (27 August) concluded a case appealed by former Civil Court Judge Mohamed Hilmy and his wife Aiminath Ali after the Criminal Court ruled that they were guilty of having sex in public.

On December 21, 2011, the Criminal Court ruled that the pair were guilty as charged and sentenced them to six months banishment and 15 lashes.

Hilmy had argued that his arrest was part of a police set-up.

The High Court ruling stated that, according to the statements provided by the police officers that attended the scene, they first saw a motorbike parked on the road near the beach area and, discretely approaching the beach, saw the pair sitting on the shadowy beach with their pants down.

According to the police officers the shadows of the pair were visible each time the Hulhule’ tower light passed them and as they walked closer they noticed that Aiminath Ali had her pants down to her feet, Hilmy’s trousers were down to his knees, and Aiminath was sitting on Hilmy’s lap.

When the police officers approached within six feet and turned the searchlights on the pair, Aiminath Ali got up and moved quickly to put up her pants but one of the police officers ran and held her hand. Police said she tried to pull her pants up using her other hand but another officer came and handcuffed her.

According to the police officers Hilmy got up and started running but he was also stopped and handcuffed.

The officers reported back to their superior in Hulhumale’ police station – Sub-Inspector Muthaba Abdulsattar – and he instructed the officers to take pictures of the couple as they were.

Hilmy, who has heard high-profile cases including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s request for an injunction against the Presidential Commission, and the Herathera Resort dispute, was suspended from the bench soon after his arrest.

Shahinda Ismail, then President of the Police Integrity Commission, confirmed to Minivan News at the time that a complaint was filed by the Judges Association (JA) and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), alleging that the judge was arrested through a police set up regarding an issue that had arisen as a result of his work in the courts.

“In their letter, the JSC said the JA are saying that he has complained to them, that he was walking in with his fiancé and police came and handcuffed both of them and basically undressed them by force,” she said.

The police denied the accusations at the time in a public statement.

“The two had to be taken into custody on suspicion of sexual behaviour in a public place as they were at the garbage dump in the south of Hulhumale’ with their pants down,” police said.

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