Month: September 2013

MTCC head resigns shortly after MDP switch

The CEO of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), Dr Ahmed Adham Abdulla, has resigned just hours after local media reported his decision to join the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

A former member of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ittihad Party (GIP), Abdullah, had told local media that his decision was made in the hope of providing the best service to the public.

“It’s not me, it’s the people who showed that, with their 45 percent that this is the way things should go. I am always a person who wants to serve the people. That’s why I joined the party that has a future,” he told Channel News Maldives.

The MTCC contracted ferry between Hulhumale’ and Male’ was temporarily suspended this morning after the contracted boats were not paid for – a situation Abdulla claimed was the result of large sums the company was itself owed.

Government aligned minister, Dr Ali Shareef, was dismissed from his post earlier this week after supporting his Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s decision to back the MDP’s President Nasheed in the presidential run-off.

Meanwhile, rumours continued to circulate regarding the future of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof, who is also said to be on the verge of switching to the MDP.

PPM party leader and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, however, dismissed speculation when speaking at a campaign rally yesterday in Male’.

“I will say that by God’s will Mahloof will remain with us. I called him and talked to him just past sunset. He voiced some grievances. But he also believes that the nations interest must come first,” Gayoom was quoted as saying.

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MDP calls for parliament to reconvene, fears “disgraced” Supreme Court judges may “abrogate will of the people”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has called on parliament to reconvene to stop the Supreme Court from potentially annulling the election results, claiming the apex court consists of “some disgraced judges who face allegations of lewd conduct.”

The MDP’s national executive committee held an emergency meeting today, after the Supreme Court accepted an appeal by the Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul September’s presidential polls. The JP placed third and narrowly missed the run-off.

The MDP was the front runner with 45.56 percent of the vote and is set to compete with Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) in run-off elections on September 28. International and domestic observers have praised the free and fair election process.

Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed has been implicated in a series of widely circulated sex videos, but the judicial oversight body Judicial Services Commission (JSC) decided not to suspend the judge against the recommendation of a subcommittee it set up to investigate the matter. JP’s presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim was a member on the JSC at the time.

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

The PPM has declared that it supports the JP’s Supreme Court appeal, citing concern over election irregularities.

The UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, Tony Lisle, issued a statement today encouraging “all presidential candidates to respect the results” of the first round of presidential elections.

Reconvene parliament: MDP

The MDP’s National Executive Committee has requested the party’s Parliamentary Group to reconvene parliament sittings and take steps through the parliament to “stop undue influence of political parties in the judiciary.”

“We will not allow a courthouse that consists of some disgraced judges who face allegations of lewd conduct to abrogate the will of the people and disrupt the constitution,” the MDP said in a statement.

The Supreme Court yesterday accepted a case from the JP seeking to have the vote annulled.

The High Court in a separate case today has ordered the Elections Commission to allow the JP supervised access to the voter lists following claims dead people had registered to vote, and that the same people registered at different locations to vote.

Gasim’s Jumhooree Coalition, which includes the Islamist Adhaalath Party, polled 24.07 percent (50,422 votes) in the first round, but has, however, variously contended that he should have received between 10,000 to 30,000 more votes, and has disputed the result in the High Court, Supreme Court, at rallies, and on his television station – Villa TV – declaring that he should have placed first.

Meanwhile, the PPM has come out in support of the JP’s ‘Vote Rigged’ campaign at a press conference yesterday. PPM’s Abdulla Ameen said the party would accept a Supreme Court verdict regardless of the outcome.

The party will continue campaigning for the second round. “I call on people in the islands who supported others to join our movement. Your participation in this campaign, especially your support for PPM’s candidate will be encouragement for the work underway in the court process,” Ameen said.

Disgraced judge

Three videos apparently showing Judge Hamid engaging in sexual relations with foreign women were leaked on social media in July. According to Maldivian law, the crime of fornication is subject to 100 lashes and banishment or house arrest for a period of eight months.

Minivan News understands that one of the newly leaked videos, time-stamped January 24 2013, shows the judge fraternising with a topless woman with an eastern European accent. At one point, the judge appears to lean right into the camera, with his face visible.

Afterwards, the woman repeatedly encourages the judge to drink wine from a mini-bar.

“If I drink that I will be caught. I don’t want to be caught,” the judge insists, refusing.

The room and date stamp appears to be the same as that in previously leaked footage of Hameed meeting a local businessman Mohamed Saeed, the director of ‘Golden Lane’.

In that video, Hameed asserts that he was one of Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Presidential Candidate’s Abdulla Yameen’s “back-ups”, and that his stand was “to do things the way Yameen wants”.

“Even [Speaker of Parliament] Abdulla Shahid will know very well that my stand is to do things the way Yameen wants. That the fall of this government was brought with our participation,” he appears to add, although the audio quality is poor.

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TV cables worth MVR 50,000 (US$3242) vandalised on Guraidhoo

A group of people have vandalised TV cables worth MVR 50,000 (US$3242) on the island of Guraidhoo in Kaafu Atoll.

An islander who spoke to Minivan News on condition of anonymity told Minivan News the TV cables were set up on the island by the Guraidhoo Youth NGO to provide foreign channels to the islanders. The source alleged the cables were vandalised after members of the NGO refused to comply with a PPM request to join them.

‘’The young people in the NGO are very neutral and they do not want to get involved in to any political activities,’’ he said. ‘’A few days ago they were asked to join the PPM and they refused to do so.’’

He said the NGO had tried to fix the damage but said it was beyond repair.

‘’Today the NGO president will come to the island and when he comes he will bring parts we need to repair it,’’ the source said.

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UN calls on all presidential candidates to accept election results

The UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, Tony Lisle, has issued a statement encouraging “all presidential candidates to respect the results” of the first round of presidential elections.

The statement, in line with those of all other observers on the September 7 polls including delegations from the Commonwealth, UK, India, Australia, Malaysia, US, EU, Japan and Thailand, follows a sustained campaign by third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim to annul the result.

Gasim’ Jumhooree Coalition, which includes the Islamist Adhaalath Party, polled 24.07 percent (50,422 votes) in the first round, narrowly missing out on a place in the run-off to second place Abdulla Yameen’s 25.35 percent

Gasim has, however, variously contended that he should have received between 10,000 to 30,000 more votes, and has disputed the result in the High Court, Supreme Court, at rallies, and on his television station – Villa TV – declaring that he should have placed first.

“God willing, it will be Gasim Ibrahim who will be the President of the Maldives on 11 November. Allah willing, do not doubt this. I tell you, do not doubt this,” he declared at a recent rally, to launch his “Vote Rigged!” campaign.

Early on Monday morning , police acting on a tip-off from the JP, barricaded streets around the Elections Commission and took its garbage into custody. The JP accused the commission of disposing of evidence, though police later reported that the rubbish contained nothing affecting the outcome of the polls.

Later the same day the Supreme Court accepted a case from the JP seeking to have the vote annulled.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – which placed first with 45.45 percent of the vote – has issued a statement following an emergency meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee, asserting that the party would not allow the will of the people be abrogated or undone by “a court house consisting of some judges who have lost their integrity and face allegations of lewd conduct.”

“The National Executive Committee has decided today to request the party’s parliamentary group to take urgent measures, restart the People’s Majlis and resume sittings to stop the abuse and misuse of the judiciary by some political parties that are exerting undue influence on the judiciary without respecting the decision of the Maldivian people made by their vote,” the press release stated.

The UN Resident Coordinator meanwhile congratulated the people of the Maldives “on the peaceful and orderly conduct of the first round of voting”, stating that he looked forward “to a similarly peaceful and orderly second round of voting.”

The UN’s calls for candidates to respect the election results and ensure a peaceful transition were reiterated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and yesterday by UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs to the Permanent Representative of the Maldives in New York.

International statements

The 17 member Commonwealth delegation – one of the largest present during the election – issued an interim assessment the after polling that described the vote counting as “highly transparent with media monitors, party observers, and national and international observers able to scrutinise the process closely.”

“The count process was conducted in a consistently transparent manner, with officials observed by the group demonstrating willingness to repeat steps in the process in response to concerns expressed by party observers,” said the delegation’s head, former Prime Minister of Malta Dr Lawrence Gonzi.

The group described the voter register – contested by the JP – as “accurate and robust”.

“Fears expressed by some political parties regarding possible large numbers of deceased voters and voters registered in the wrong geographic area seem to be unfounded, based on the low incidence of election day complaints,” said Dr Gonzi.

Indian observers

Six teams of Indian observers, including four in and around Male, one on Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo – in Seenu Atoll (Addu) in the south – and another on Kulhudhuffushi, Hanimadhoo, Dhidhoo and nearby islands in Haa Dhaalu and Haa Alifu Atolls in the north, covering 33.6 percent of all booths.

“The polling was orderly and unblemished by any notable incident. It was also an enjoyable experience for the voter,” stated J M Lyngdoh of the Indian observer team.

“The voters’ lists were accurate and prominently displayed. The ballot boxes were opened and closed as per the scheduled time. The discipline, patience and dignity of the voter and the sheer competence, industry and cheerfulness of the election staff were quite admirable. The police were ubiquitous but discreetly non-intrusive,” he said.

“The success in the first round is an achievement which any of the mature democracies would have been proud of. This was a transparent and fair election and there is no reason why the run off should be any less than the first round,” he concluded.

US statement

The US also congratulated the Maldives on the conduct of the first round of voting.

“The very high voter turnout showed the strong commitment of the people of Maldives to democratic government,” said US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf.

“As the country prepares for a second round of voting on September 28, we call on all parties to respect the democratic process and continue to allow for a free, fair and peaceful vote to take place. This is the second presidential election since Maldives embraced multi-party democracy in 2008, and thus represents a historic opportunity for Maldivians to select democratically the representative of their choice,” Harf said.

UK statement

The UK’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Alistair Burt, also praised the conduct of the election.

“Election observers, both domestic and international, have broadly agreed that the election was transparent and competitive. The UK’s election observers were also pleased to see that proceedings ran smoothly, and that the atmosphere was one of excitement and anticipation,” Burt stated.

“The exceptionally high turnout – estimated to be around 88 percent – demonstrates a significant public enthusiasm and support for democracy in Maldives. I hope political parties will honour this democratic engagement by working together in order to further consolidate democratic institutions in Maldives,” he stated.

“I hope that the second round of elections on 28 September, and the transition to post-electoral politics, will also be free, fair and credible,” Burt concluded.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives – which ran the most comprehensive observation operation on the day – announced prior to the release of the provisional results that none of the incidents reported on election day would have a “material impact on the outcome of the election”.

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“God Willing, Gasim will be President on November 11”: Gasim

This article was first published on Dhivehi Sitee. Republished with permission.

On the evening of September 9, two days after Maldivians voted in the country’s second democratic elections in which Mohamed Nasheed emerged with a resounding victory, Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Coalition launched a series of rallies under the name ‘Rigged Vote! Rigged Vote!’. Together with its ally, the radical ‘religious’ Adhaalath Party, the Jumhooree Coalition has been claiming that at least 20,000 additional votes were cast on 7 September. This is the second in Dhivehi Sitee’s English translations of speeches at the ‘Rigged Vote! Rigged Vote’ launch rally. Today, extracts from the speech by leader of Jumhooree Party, Gasim Ibrahim:

Yes, we know without a doubt that the number of votes we got in the provisional results announced by the Elections Commission is not the amount of votes people gave us. I understand very clearly that more than 70,000 Maldivians voted for us. We will never forgive, never forgive, this major crime committed by the Elections Commission. Will never forgive, okay?

It is not 50,000 votes that I got from Maldivians. I know this because how were dead people voted for, those votes counted and included in the list? When there are such huge responsibilities to be assigned and when such big changes are made, I must say the people responsible must hurry to deliver the right. They must hurry. We don’t appoint people to positions so they can say this is a power in our hands and harass and badger.

I am saying it very clearly, we have no doubt that the High Court and the Supreme Court, too, will deliver us our right. Yes, in ‘critical moments’ like this, my appeal to the courts is to hurry up. See it as a right and give us a judgement fast. I have no doubt these courts will rule this way. That is, the courts will see this as a right and come to that decision fast. I don’t believe that at a time like this, when the entire peoples’ future rests and builds on this that such things should get stuck. I don’t believe that something like this should be open to influence or power from outsiders.

What I want to say is, the MNDF and or police and army of the national security force must give the protection they must give to our judges. Especially in a moment like this, when their protection and security is of such importance, I beg the president of the Maldives. I ask for the protection of those people [judges].

Yes, even in a short period of about eight hours, we have found about 800 dead people. We can check this out properly when we get the voters lists from the polling stations. We are certain that about 20,000 votes have been cast against the law and procedures. That is why the results show we have less votes than we got. I don’t know whether the votes we got have been rigged and moved from this side to that side.

What is certain is that it is not 50,000 votes that we got. I believe the result should have more than 70,000 votes. Those are people who joined us and supported us. These people are sobbing in all corners of the country, shedding tears of pain and crying: ‘this is not the reality, so many crimes have been committed. We saw people, dressed in a particular colour, closing up the cote boxes with shaking hands.”Yes, I am telling you about Laamu Atoll. A person monitoring near one of our vote boxes there told me s/he saw a person wearing a yellow shirt closing a box in this state.

We are leading. We are leading. When you minus that 90,000 votes [received by MDP], we are the leaders. Yes, when you subtract 20,000 from those 90,000, I believe it is us who are in the lead.

We know it is our vote that was changed. I am telling you what I believe. I am telling you what I believe. Maldivians, have courage. I am ready to make any sacrifice with my body and my money to bring you Maldivians a happy and prosperous life. We will not give in to anyone. This talk of me hospitalised for a heart attack — these are all blatant lies to dishearten you. This talk of me endorsing this person or endorsing that person. We will endorse when we have to endorse. But today we don’t have to endorse. There is nobody we will endorse. God willing, it is others who will have to endorse us. We don’t have to endorse anyone. We are not in such a position yet.

Even if you have to vote twice or thrice, I tell you, don’t hesitate. Do as we say. Like Imran said, we will tell you what the most right, most sincere decision is for the sake of this nation, this land. When we tell you this decision, I call on you to double the support you have for us and decide to work with us.

God willing, it will be Gasim Ibrahim who will be the President of the Maldives on 11 November. Allah willing, do not doubt this. I tell you, do not doubt this.

Ask Allah for strength. Pray to Allah. Get strength from Allah and pray. That then is how Allah will decide things. There is no other calculation than this [Allah’s]. What I am telling you is the Right. Even if some people are deceiving you, the Right will win, Allah willing. Allah has guaranteed victory for the Righteous. Reminding you of this will give you Maldivian citizens strength and good thinking. I am ending this with the prayer that God will give you the ability to think right.

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Police search six houses as part of special operation conducted in Addu

Police have searched six houses on Hithadhoo in Addu City as part of a special operation conducted by the police Special Operations (SO) team based in Addu for elections security.

A police spokesperson would not confirm whether anybody was arrested during the raids.

However, Police South Division Commander, Chief Inspector Ahmed Shifan, told local news outlet Sun Online that police had confiscated hard disks and related items from some of the houses.

Shifan also told the paper that the houses were searched in bid to clarify certain information required for a case police were investigating, and that all the houses were searched after obtaining a court warrant.

He declined to provide further information.

Police had previously searched the premises of a house owned by a senior activist of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on the island of Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, who was arrested on allegations that he had printed ballot papers. Police also confiscated the internal hard disk of his computer.

An island council source on Kulhudhufushi at the time told Minivan News that the party was alleged to have printed oversize, laminated versions of the ballot paper to demonstrate to people how to vote.

The MDP issued a statement saying the party had sent a letter to Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz asking him to return the hard disk back to the MDP, as it contained important material related to the MDP presidential election campaign.

On June 24, police decided to station Special Operations (SO) officers in Addu to work with the Thinadhoo police station and establish “peace and security” for the election.

On February 7, 2012, SO officers among others instigated a violent mutiny, assaulted government supporters, ransacked the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (meeting hall), staged a protest at the Republic Square demanding the resignation of then-President Mohamed Nasheed, clashed with soldiers and stormed the national broadcaster in the hours immediately preceding Nasheed’s controversial resignation.

Moreover, on February 8, 2012 SO officers brutally beat supporters of the deposed MDP during a heavy-handed crackdown of a protest march led by Nasheed, who had announced that his resignation the previous day was made “under duress.”

Mayor of Addu City Abdulla ‘Soabe’ Sodiq did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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EC warns parliament over VTV’s attempt to “incite uprising” against commission

The Elections Commission (EC) has raised concerns in Parliament’s National Security Committee that there may not be a suitable environment for the presidential election’s second round should Villa TV (VTV), owned by Gasim Ibrahim and his Jumhooree Party (JP), continue to deliberately spread false information and incite people to rise up against the commission.

The National Security Committee unanimously approved the EC’s request to share their concerns about local media spreading JP’s “baseless and unfounded” claims last Friday (September 13).

The parliamentary committee then summoned the Elections Commission (EC), the Maldives Police Service (MPS), the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), and the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) to appear for questioning Saturday (September 14) in regard to its investigation into the EC case filed against the JP.

“For the past week, the media has been trying to spread a lot of untrue stories. There have been so many figures quoted with no truth in them,” EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek told Minivan News yesterday (September 15).

“The problem isn’t local media in general, but VTV has been doing this deliberately,” said Thowfeek.

VTV had been continuously broadcasting the live program ‘Olhuvaalee Vote Ge Namugai’ (‘fraud in the name of the vote’) as well as reports against the EC and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), since the preliminary results from presidential election’s first round indicated Gasim placed third with 24.07 percent, a total of 50,422 votes.

“We went to Parliament’s National Security Committee and raised these concerns because VTV and JP [members] at their ‘jagaha’ (campaign meeting hub) are inciting people to uprise,” said Thowfeek.

“We are concerned that if they keep continuing that we may not find the opportunity for a peaceful, harmonious environment suitable for voting on the 28th,” he continued.

During the National Security Committee meeting these issues were brought to the attention of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Maldives Police Service (MPS), and Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC).

“These three institutions were present during the second round of the meeting Saturday – MBC because of VTV’s role in broadcasting these things all day and night,” noted Thowfeek.

“The MNDF and MPS [were notified] because the JP and VTV have continued to call on people to obstruct and oppose the second round of elections,” he explained.

“However, I noticed a change in VTV’s content after the National Security Committee meeting, because I didn’t see the ‘Olhuvaalee Vote Ge Namugai’ program broadcast Saturday night,” he added.

Minivan News observed this morning (September 16) that the ‘breaking news’ on VTV involved broadcasting as fact allegations that the EC was destroying election-related documents.

Police acted on the JP’s claim and barricaded the entrance to the EC secretariat early this morning, however by afternoon police had released a statement confirming that no documents potentially affecting the election results had been found among those disposed of by the commission.

“It’s really sad that one of the [presidential election] contestants – after he failed to get the votes required to compete in the second round – has behaved in such a very immature manner,” said Thowfeek.

“Gasim and [his running mate, Dr Hassan] Saeed both failed in the first round of the 2008 presidential election and without any fuss or problems they accepted their defeat,” he noted. “So I thought they’d be more mature this time and not raise problems, but this time they have failed to digest their loss.”

“It’s not a good example to set for the public and it’s not a good thing for the future,” he added.

Committee statements taken out of context: EC

Thowfeek also noted that statements he and EC Member Ali Mohamed Manik gave about the voter registry during the National Security Committee meeting had been taken out of context by local media.

“Saying these [11] people [who voted in the first round] were not registered voters is not true information,” said Thowfeek.

“These people were on the voter registry list. They were on the final gazetted list that was published publicly, they are not new names,” he continued. “The were also found on the voter registry that was sent to the ballot boxes.”

Thowfeek explained that an interim voter registry document was created after the voter list was published on the government gazette – and accessible for public review so the EC could be notified of needed corrections.

While the 11 voters in question were not included on interim document, their names were found on final voter registry list sent to polling stations, he emphasised.

“Due to a clerical error the EC was not able to find their names in the correct places [on the interim document],” said Thowfeek. “It was the fault of the EC administration. However, this was a case by case issue.”

“If anyone’s name is missed to the a fault of the EC then the commission is responsible for correcting the problem and giving the person a chance to vote,” he added.

Thowfeek emphasised that international observers from 17 commonwealth countries – including Australia, Malaysia, India and UK – as well as the US, EU, Japan and Thailand had all praised the smooth, calm, peaceful, transparent and open election process.

“During a gathering we had with the international observers the evening of September 8, they said this election is just like what anybody can see in a developed country because it was so open, transparent and organised,” he added.

Local media problems

Meanwhile, MBC has launched an investigation into VTV broadcasting unsubstantiated content to incite hatred against the EC in violation of the broadcasting code of practice. The commission stated that it was investigating the matter after a case was filed by a private individual.

“The investigation is ongoing, so I cannot comment [on the VTV case],” MBC President Mohamed Shahyb told Minivan News today.

“We have to watch real time video [from VTV] which takes time,” he explained. “If it is determined that VTV breached the [broadcasting] code of practice then we will give them an opportunity to respond.”

“The commission has to follow procedures to give them time to reply, only then we can adjudicate and reach a final conclusion,” he added.

Shahyb expects the investigation will “probably” be completed by late this week or early next week.

Although the VTV case also falls within the Maldives Media Council (MMC)’s mandate, no official complaints have yet been filed, the MMC told Minivan News today.

However, the MMC did receive an SMS expressing concern with VTV’s broadcasts, which was discussed by the council’s five member committee dedicated to election issues.

With the ongoing Supreme Court and High Court cases as well as MBC’s investigation, the MMC has not decided to take any official action as of yet, however the issue is “on the table”, it noted.

The MMC also noted it had not received any official complaints regarding the conflicting and inaccurate media reporting of first round voting figures during the counting process.

Confusion over the voting figures was created by local media reports not matching those of the EC during counting, with sluggish EC figures supplemented by differing poll results, depending on the outlet chosen. One local newspaper even had voted turnout at 102 percent for much of the counting process.

Prior to the release of the provisional results at 5:00am on Saturday 8, a small group of JP supporters demonstrated outside the Dharubaruge convention centre alleging a 10,000 vote discrepancy.

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No legal authority for ACC to prevent signing of Nexbis contract, Supreme Court rules

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) did not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration not to sign a contract with Malaysian mobile security firm Nexbis in 2010, to establish a border control system (BCS).

The apex court today overturned a previous High Court judgment, which itself overturned a Civil Court ruling last year declaring that the ACC did not have legal authority to terminate the contract signed with Nexbis in November 2010.

However, the High Court judgment was appealed by Nexbis at the Supreme Court, which today ruled in favour of the Malaysian company.

The controversial BCS project was terminated by the government in August this year and replaced by the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) provided by the US government on August 20.

According to local media reports, today’s Supreme Court judgment was delivered with the unanimous consent of all seven Justices on the court bench. However, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and Justice Muthasim Adnan noted different points to the other five.

Delivering the majority decision at today’s hearing, Justice Abdulla Saeed reportedly said that the High Court violated judicial and legal principles in overturning the lower court verdict, noting that the ACC’s order was made after the agreement was signed.

Referring to domestic contract laws and the ACC Act, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Court ruling, which had determined that the ACC did not have the legal authority to order the Immigration Department to terminate the BCS project based on alleged corrupt dealings.

The Supreme Court had also previously overturned a High Court injunction blocking the implementation of the BCS project, prompting ACC Chair Hassan Luthfy to claim that the independent body had been rendered powerless.

“If this institution is simply an investigative body, then there is no purpose for our presence,” Luthfy said in September last year. “Even the police investigate cases, don’t they? So it is more cost effective for this state to have only the police to investigate cases instead of the ACC.”

Luthfy contended that the ruling had rendered the ACC powerless to prevent corruption, even if it was carried out on a large scale.

“In other countries, Anti Corruption Commissions have the powers of investigation, prevention and creating awareness. If an institution responsible for fighting corruption does not have these powers then it is useless,” he argued.

Corruption allegations

In December 2011, the ACC submitted corruption cases to the Prosecutor General’s Office (AGO) against former Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of the Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel, claiming the pair abused their authority for undue financial gain in awarding Nexbis the MVR 500 million (US$39 million) BSC project.

Ex-controller Ilyas – brother-in-law of President Dr Mohamed Waheed and current state minister of defence and national security – pleaded not guilty to the charges at the first hearing of the trial on April 10 this year.

Meanwhile, on December 25, 2012, parliament voted unanimously to instruct the government to terminate the BSC agreement with Nexbis.

All 74 MPs in attendance voted in favour of a Finance Committee recommendation following a probe into the potential financial burden on the state as a result of the deal.

In September 2012, the ACC informed the committee that the deal would cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.

The Finance Committee meanwhile found that the government had agreed to waive taxes for Nexbis despite the executive lacking legal authority for tax exemption.

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US government in March this year to provide a border control system to the Maldives, representatives from Nexbis told Minivan News that the company was uncertain what the MOU would mean for the group’s own border control technology.  The technology has been in use at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) since September 2012.

“We do remain confident that the Maldivian government will honour its obligations under the 2010 concession agreement,” read a statement from lawyers representing the company.

“We are confident also of the support we have received by the Immigration Department in implementing and fully operating the system, but remain cautious of individuals that continue to pose obstacles to prevent the success of this project is stemming the national security issues faced by the Maldives today.”

Concession agreement

Under the concession agreement signed with the Maldives government, Nexbis levied a fee of US$2 from passengers in exchange for installing, maintaining and upgrading the country’s immigration system.  The company also agreed a fee of US$15 for every work permit card issued under the system.

Nexbis in July 2013 invoiced the Department of Immigration and Emigration for US$2.8 million (MVR 43 million) for the installation and operation of its border control technology in line with the concession agreement – requesting payment be settled within 30 days.

Nexbis’ lawyers argued that the company had expected the fee to be included in the taxes and surcharges applied to airline tickets in and out of the country, according to local media.  However, lawyers argued these payments had not been made due to the government’s “neglect” in notifying the relevant international authorities.

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‘Islands of Maldives’ website launched

The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture has launched a website compiling information on the reefs and atoll of the Maldives.

The site – www.islandsodmaldives.gov.mv – has been developed in conjunction with the International Fund for Agricultural Development & the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP).

The BOBP describes itself as an organisation designed to  “provide technical and management advisory services for sustainable coastal fisheries development and management in the Bay of Bengal region.”

Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Ali Solih told local media that the site would provide complete logistical information for all islands, and would be updated with more information very soon.

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