Month: September 2013

High Court rejects JP request for order to stop announcement of official results

The High Court has rejected the Jumhoree Party (JP)’s request for an injunction seeking the halting of the Elections Commission (EC)’s announcing of the official results for last Saturday’s presidential election.

The High Court ruling (Dhivehi) stated that there were no grounds to grant the stay order based both on the reasons argued in the case filed by the JP as well as the regulations and guidelines for issuing injunctions. The three judges who made the ruling were Judge Abdul Gani Mohamed, Judge Ali Sameer and Judge Abdul Raoof Ibrahim.

The JP request was made in a case filed by the party seeking a court order to compel the EC to release the voters list from Saturday’s election. Election regulations require a court order before the registry can be released.

The provisional results of the election showed Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate former President Mohamed Nasheed finishing the race on top with 45.45 percent of the popular vote or 95,224 votes. The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate MP Abdulla Yameen came second with 53,099 votes – 42,125 votes less than the MDP – while the JP led by resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim secured 50,422 votes to finish the race in third position. Incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan finished the race at the bottom with 10,750 votes – 5.13 percent of the popular vote.

As former President Nasheed fell short of the 50 percent plus one vote required for a first round victory, the MDP candidate will face the runner up Abdulla Yameen in a second round run-off on September 28.

JP complaints

Shortly before the provisional results were announced in the early hours of September 8, the JP challenged the results, later contending that the vote had been rigged in favour of both the PPM and MDP.

The party filed a case at the High Court on Tuesday (September 10) requesting an order for the EC to hand over copies of voter lists and result sheet of all ballot boxes.

The High Court however initially refused to accept the case citing incomplete documentation. The JP subsequently refiled the case with completed paperwork yesterday (September 11).

A member of the JP’s legal team, Mohamed Haleem, said the party had acquired ample evidence to prove the alleged discrepancies and irregularities, which included expatriates and dead people appearing on the voters list, use of multiple designs of ballot papers and double voting.

EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek told Minivan News on Tuesday that the JP’s claims were “baseless and unfounded”.

“The allegations by the Jumhoree Party are wasting our time actually. They don’t understand democracy or how to accept defeat, it’s a very unfortunate thing,” Thowfeek told Minivan News. “People who cannot accept defeat should not face an election,”

“Gasim wants to tell people that he has more than 50,000 supporters, but the 50,422 [who voted for him] are his real support, he should be grateful to the people who voted for him. There is no way he’s going to find any more, even if a recount is conducted,” Thowfeek said.

Speaking at the party’s main meeting hall in Maafanu Kunooz last night, Gasim said the JP has written to the EC requesting a recount of all 470 ballot boxes in the presence of observers as provided for in the election laws.
“We have doubts to a very high degree. Vote [ballot papers] were printed. Dead people were doubled [on the voters registry],” he said.
Gasim also expressed confidence of obtaining a favourable ruling from the High Court or upon appeal at the Supreme Court and praised the judiciary as “the life of the country.”

“We know judges will bring justice for us,” he said.

Despite the allegations of wrongdoing, international observers, including those from the EU, Commonwealth, UK, US and India, praised the conduct of Saturday’s presidential election, describing them as “transparent and competitive”.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) – who ran the most comprehensive observation operation on election day – announced that none of the incidents reported on September 7 would have a “material impact on the outcome of the election”.

TM said in a statement that all candidates “were well-represented during the counting, making the process transparent and adding to its credibility.”

“Gasim Ibrahim was represented at 73.7 percent of polling stations during the vote count. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was represented at 29.6 percent of polling stations during the vote count. Abdulla Yameen was represented at 74.2 percent of polling stations during the vote count. Mohamed Nasheed was represented at 91.5 percent of polling stations during the vote count,” the TM statement stated.

“While only 0.22 percent of ballot papers were disputed by the candidate/party observers during counting, in the vast majority of polling stations (85.5 percent), the counting concluded without any controversy.”

The EC has since invited applications for voter re-registration and revealed that 500 new voters will be eligible to cast their ballots on September 28.

Third parties

The opposition MDP meanwhile joined the JP’s High Court case today – which has been scheduled to begin on Sunday at 1:20pm – as a third party while the PPM has told local media that the party was also considering joining the case.

MDP’s Spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy confirmed to Minivan News that the party had decided to join JP’s case as it involved the legitimate interests of the party and presidential candidate, former President Nasheed.

The PPM meanwhile said that its election observers had also noted irregularities during the vote.

Vice presidential candidate of PPM, Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, told local newspaper Haveeru that the basis of JP’s case had been derived from a previous Supreme Court case lodged by member of PPM’s Appeal Committee Ahmed Zaneen Adam.

“[The case] involves issues first highlighted by the PPM [in the Supreme Court case]. It is very important to verify the authenticity of the allegations [made by JP]. We hope that the court would make a quick and prompt decision,” Jameel told Haveeru.

Among the inconsistencies observed by the PPM’s election observers, Jameel claimed, included double voting and the election officials at polling stations being biased and prejudiced towards a “certain candidate” while announcing the election results.

The former Home Minister also raised concern over the “aggressive responses” given in the media by the members of EC regarding the issues. Jameel argued that EC members should not be personal in responding to complaints filed by candidates and other stakeholders regarding the election.

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Elections Commission warns Adhaalath Party over political abuse of Islam

The Election Commission (EC) has sent a formal letter of warning to the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, stating that the commission would take action should the party continue violating the Political Parties Act – the parent legislation upon which all political parties are founded.

Speaking to local media, Adhaalath Party Spokesperson Ali Zahir confirmed to local media that the party had received the letter.

Zahir said that the EC, in the letter signed by the Vice Chair of Elections Commission Ahmed Fayaz and addressed to the President of Adhaalath Party Sheikh Imran Abdulla, the commission condemned remarks made by the members of the party during a rally held at the Jumhoree Party’s campaign headquarters at Maafannu Kunooz.

The Adhaalath Party, along with the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Jumhoree Party (JP) formed an umbrella coalition to back JP Leader and resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim in the presidential election. However, following the defeat in the election, both the DQP and the Adhaalath have joined the JP’s contention that the election had been rigged in favor of both the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

According to Zahir, the EC claimed that Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran’s speech during the rally could lead to chaos and ‘fitnah’ among the society.

The commission in the letter noted that the High Court could order the dissolution of a political party should the party attempt to incite hate and violence among the people, said Zahir.

Sheikh Imran during the speech claimed that the Jumhoree coalition would not accept the results of the scheduled run-off election, regardless of who won it. The Adhaalath party claimed that the dissenting remarks were made against the EC after it announced it would take action against the party for labelling opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters ‘Laadheenee’ (Anti-Islamic).

The rally eventually turned into a protest as the JP supporters gathered outside the residence of the EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek calling for his resignation. The protesters maintained that last Saturday’s election had been rigged in favor of PPM and MDP.

The EC during a press conference on Tuesday announced that legal action would be taken against those political parties who sought to deploy Islam as a political weapon.

“The EC will do everything it can to take legal action against those who use Islam as a political weapon by labeling others as impious,” said the Vice Chair of EC Ahmed Fayaz. “This is a duty of the commission.”

Fayaz noted that Islam cannot be “hijacked” or “held hostage” by one particular group or political party.

“Because the Political Parties Act states that no one can use Islam as a political weapon”, the courts would be asked to dissolve any political party that is guilty of violating the law, said Fayaz.

Legal action would also be taken against people who “insult” or “disrespect” Islam, he added.

Speaking to Minivan News on Tuesday about the threats of violence, Chair of EC Fuwad Thowfeek responded saying that “it is very sad – especially [coming from] big political parties and some with them, like Sheikh Imran [Abdulla], President of the Adhaalath Party, who spoke in an uncivilised manner. It’s a pity political parties are behaving in that manner.”

“Human beings are given the mental ability to think. That is how you know to distinguish right and wrong. I think what is happening here is someone has gone insane. When you lose your brain these things happen,” EC Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz was quoted as saying by local media outlet CNM.

“I have not done anything wrong. If I had done something wrong I would resign immediately,” Fayaz continued. “I wouldn’t wait until any state institution comes up and says that I breached the law. I’m not worried about security. You only die once,” he added.

The Adhaalath Party meanwhile questioned the motive of EC claiming that it was the only party who had received the letter from the commission while several other political parties had also criticized the commission.

“We also believe that action must be taken against political parties that violate the Political Parties Act. But it should be done in the right order. They should first take action against those who had breached the law first before coming to us,” said Ali Zahir.

Minivan News tried contacting both Chair of EC Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz, but were not responding to calls at time of press.

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DRP votes to support MDP in presidential run-off

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has become the first party to officially back a candidate in the second round of the presidential election, throwing its support behind the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Mohamed Nasheed.

The decision made at a party council meeting earlier today saw 12 votes cast for the MDP and three for their run-off rivals the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), with seven party members undecided.

MDP spokesman Imthiyaz Fahmy today explained that there had been no official communication between his party and the DRP, emphasising that the move had been the DRP’s “own decision”.

Fahmy suggested that the move would bring 10,000 votes to his party – intimating that President Dr Mohamed Waheed himself had not attracted any votes for his coalition with the DRP in the first round.

The MDP have argued that they need only few thousand votes – in addition to the 95,224 received on Saturday (45.45 percent of the total) – to claim a second round win.

DRP MP’s Abdulla Mausoom and Rozaina Adam took to Twitter soon after the council’s decision with the MDP’s ‘kuriah, kuriah’ (‘forward, forward’) election slogan appearing on both members’ feeds.

Economic Minister Ahmed Mohamed voted in favour of backing PPM and is reported to have stormed out of the council meeting telling the press he intended to support the PPM regardless.

While leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has previously said he would not remain in the DRP if the party’s council decided to enter a coalition with the MDP, the MP for Kendhoo said at a press conference after the council meeting today that it would be “irresponsible” for a senior politician to withhold support based on previous statements.

“Therefore, I intend to participate in President Nasheed’s campaign as DRP leader and fully participate in efforts to seek support for President Nasheed in the upcoming presidential election,” he said.

Thasmeen reportedly said that he considered the current political reality and decided on the path that would minimise the “spirit of political vengeance.”

Minivan News was unable to obtain further comment from the DRP prior to publication.

Going into the elections, the DRP aligned with President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ittihad Party (GIP), with leader Thasmeen as Waheed’s running mate. Both candidates officially ran as independents, however, due to a prior registration issue linked with the size of the GIP.

Speaking with Minivan News the day before the election, Waheed explained that he felt the strength of the DRP could compensate for his party’s relatively small support base. The DRP is currently the country’s third largest party, with 21,411 members according to the Election Commissions most recent figures. It also has 10 members in the Majlis.

However, as it became clear that Waheed had gained the fewest votes on polling day – just 5.13 percent – the DRP’s Mausoom hinted that the party would be looking for new affiliations heading into the second round.

Registered in 2005, the DRP was formed as a vehicle for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to compete in the country’s first multi-party presidential elections in 2008. After the 30-year leader lost power to the MDP’s Mohamed Nasheed, the DRP remained the major opposition in parliament.

Thasmeen was anointed party head following Gayoom’s short-lived retirement from politics. However, the former’s willingness to negotiate with the MDP led to a 12-page letter of complaints from the former leader and an acrimonious split in 2011, followed by the departure of Gayoom loyalists to the newly-formed PPM.

Speaker of the Majlis Abdulla Shahid has been the highest profile defection from the DRP in recent months – joining the MDP to rapturous celebrations in April – though the party has seen a steady drain of support as PPM’s numbers have risen.

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Police present MDP MP Jabir to Criminal Court for alcohol raid trial

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was presented to the Criminal Court by police today, after being kept in custody since Tuesday (September 10) ahead of his trial for alleged possession of alcohol and cannabis.

Jabir and fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor are among several senior party figures charged with drug and alcohol offences, after being arrested on on Hondaidhoo Island in November whilst allegedly under the influence of illegal substances.

While Jabir at the time of his arrest was a member of the Jumhoree Party (JP) – he later defected to the opposition – the MDP has maintained that his arrest was politically motivated to coincide with a no confidence motion at the time against senior government figures.

The MDP has alleged that the treatment of its MPs, including, Jabir was noticeably different to those of other parties currently aligned to the present government, accusing prosecutors of persecuting its members and supporters.

The trial began earlier this month, with Ghafoor being the only MP in attendance to hear charges against him concerning the case.

A total of 10 people taken into police custody on November 16 after officers obtain a warrant to search the island of Hondaidhoo.

Today’s hearing

Criminal Court Spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik said state prosecutors during the hearing read out a list of charges against Jabir. The MDP MP will be given a chance to respond to these charges against him at the next hearing, Manik added.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News that Jabir had been held in police custody ahead of the hearing, under an order previously issued by the Criminal Court. Police did not provide any further details on where the MP had been detained.

Jabir earlier this week had his passport held by immigration officials when trying to leave the country, after previously failing to attend the opening hearing of the trial into the charges against him.

Explaining the absence, MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy ‘Inthi’ told Minivan News he understood Jabir had not received a summons from the Criminal Court to attend the trial, but would have attended if having done so.

“He has been away from Male’ campaigning [for the presidential election held on September 7] and had not therefore received a summons,” he said, accusing the country’s courts of purposefully scheduling hearings against MDP MPs to try and stymie the party’s election campaign.

Fahmy additionally claimed that the Criminal Court had failed to follow its own procedures, and that a summons had to be re-sent if not received by the individual in question.

By comparison, he alleged that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP and Deputy Speak of Parliament Ahmed Nazim had failed to respond to 12 summons without arrest in relation to his trial for fraud – charges which he was later acquitted of. That case is now the subject of an ongoing High Court appeal.

Fahmy said although the MDP had not been requested to provide a lawyer for Jabir, the party would be ready to provide assistance to him in what it continues to allege is a “politically motivated” arrest.

Fahmy also alleged that the judiciary was seeking to fast track cases against MDP members to hinder the party and its campaigning ahead of a run-off vote scheduled for September 28.

He himself is currently facing a charge of “disobeying orders” over allegedly contemptuous remarks he made against the judiciary during a television show.

Fahmy argued that Jabir, along with Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and the son of the former President Nasheed’s Special Envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki, were on a “private island” when they arrested by police officers, who he alleged beat and then arrested them.

“This all happened at the time of a no confidence motion against Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim and is a clear attempt at intimidation,” claimed Fahmy.

He said that the arrest was against Majlis regulations that say an MP could not be arrested at the time of a no confidence vote.

The no confidence vote had been scheduled for April 8, but was postponed after MDP MPs objected to a decision to not hold the vote in secret despite a parliamentary decision approving a secret ballot.

Previous MP liquor cases

Police last year forwarded a case for prosecution against MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, after a bottle of alcohol was allegedly found in his luggage in March 2012 upon his return to the Maldives after an overseas trip.

The bottle was allegedly discovered when his luggage was screened.

Shiyam is the head of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), a new party allied with the Progressive Party of the Maldives and its bid for the presidency on September 28.

Newspaper Haveeru reported on September 3 this year that the case was sent back to police by the Prosecutor General’s Office in August 2012 to clarify further information.

Police have yet to send the case to the PG office over a year later.

The penalty for alcohol possession in the penal code is either a fine of between MVR1,000 to MVR3,000 or imprisonment, banishment or house arrest between one to three years.

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Two arrested on Kulhudhufushi for allegedly printing ballot papers

Police have arrested two individuals from the island of Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll for allegedly printing ballot papers.

A police spokesperson told Minivan News today that police could only confirm that a case involving the printing of ballot papers was under investigation.

“That’s the only comment we can give at the moment,” he said, declining to provide further information.

An island council member of Kulhudhufushi, who spoke to Minivan on condition of anonymity, said the printed ballot papers in question were bigger than the actual ballot papers and were also laminated.

“I heard they were printed by some pro-Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters to make people aware of what the ballot papers would look like,” he said. “Two men were arrested in connection with the case.”

One of them was arrested on Tuesday (September 10), the council member said, while the other was arrested yesterday (September 11). He also confirmed that they were taken to the island court, which extended their remand detention period to three days.

According to the council member, the ballot papers were printed at a major bookshop on the island which is owned by a pro-Adhaalath party supporter.

“They did not make it an issue at first but when they were defeated in the elections they reported it to the police as a complaint,” he said. “If the police arrested the people who printed it, the police will also have to arrested the people who helped them print it.”

He said that the case was reported to police by “anti-MDP people” on the island.

“They are trying to mislead people and claim that the elections result was not right,” he said, adding that he himself believed that the election was free and fair.

He added that there were no issues with the ballot boxes placed on the island.

The Elections Commission (EC) told local media yesterday that the commission would have been aware if fake ballot papers were cast and dismissed allegations of fraud.

“The ballot papers we printed has strong security features. If other papers were used in ballot boxes, we would know it very clearly,” EC Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

Fayaz explained that the EC printed 2,407 extra ballot papers, which was one percent of the total number of ballot papers, and that Novelty Printers would bear witness to the number of papers that were printed. Each polling station was sent 11 extra ballot papers, he added.

Meanwhile, MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy tweeted this afternoon that police have allegedly arrested a “third MDP activist in Kulhudhufushi.”

The party has also issued a press release strongly condemning the arrests.

“We believe that our campaign event manager Ahmed Athif was arrested based on completely false allegations for the purposes of bringing the party into disrepute, creating fear on the island, and intimidating senior campaign activists,” the statement read.

The party identified the second individual as Ahmed Abdul Raheem ‘Beney,’ an MDP youth activist. The MDP contended that the arrests were intended to divert attention from the defeat suffered by pro-government parties, calling on police to “cease intimidating the public with such uncivilised allegations.”

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President Waheed meets US Ambassador Sison

President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with Ambassador of the United States accredited to the Maldives Michele J. Sison in Male’ yesterday (September 11).

According to the President’s Office, Ambassador Sison discussed the election held on September 7, as well as the upcoming run-off vote scheduled for September 28, which has been required after no single candidate was able to receive 51 percent of the ballots cast.

President Waheed added that he remained committed to ensuring stability and calm in the country as the election process continued.

Meanwhile, Sison stated that with independent observers having provided positive feedback on the first round election, she requested the same level of stability for the second round of voting.

The US ambassador also met yesterday with former President Mohamed Nasheed, who will contest the run-off poll as the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate against MP Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

During the meeting, Nasheed and the US ambassador discussed the outcome of last Saturday’s presidential election and the scheduled run-off contest scheduled for September 28.

Nasheed also expressed concern over current Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, who was found guilty of posting a politicised tweet on social media by the Police Integrity Commission.

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Three Maldivian Girl Guides awarded organisation’s highest national award

Three Maldivian Girl Guides have this week been presented with the organisation’s highest national award – the President’s Badge.

School students Mariyam Rimsha Suhail, Firasha Mohamed and Reem Zahir were presented with their awards by President Dr Mohamed Waheed at a special ceremony in Male’ yesterday (September 11).

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Nasheed to ‘go it alone’ in run-off: Eurasia Review

Presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim appears to have been upset over the election results. He said that he will not accept the results announced by the Election Commission. He also alleged that over 10000 voters who were not registered had voted in the elections, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

It is doubtful whether Gasim would succeed in his court case in the face of the findings of many neutral observers. It also looks very doubtful whether Gasim would whole heartedly support Yameen Abdulla as their relationship has a bitter history.

Perhaps Nasheed must have taken these into consideration in deciding to go it alone and not go for a coalition with other parties. His experience in the first term where he was unable to get along with those who voted for him like Gasim, Hassan Saeed and others must have made him decide not to go against coalition this time.

On the other hand the other candidate Abdulla Yameen, Gayoom’s half brother will have no compunction to use every card available with him to show that not only the country but also Islam will be unsafe under Nasheed. Some of his supporters may also resort to “India bashing”.

Already the rabid leader Sheikh Mohammed Shaheen Ali Saeed of Adhaalath party has declared that he would join the PPM of Yameen. Some allegations are already being made that the GMR will be brought back to run the international Airport of Male to favour India in case Nasheed is voted to power.

With all other groups ganging up against Nasheed which we saw in the first round itself, it looks that it is not going be an “easy walk” for him in the runoff.

Read more

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Nasheed and US Ambassador discuss outcome of the election

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed has met with the US Ambassador to Maldives and Sri Lanka Michele J. Sison today.

During the meeting, Nasheed and the US ambassador discussed on the outcome of last Saturday’s presidential election and the scheduled run-off contest scheduled for September 28.

According to former president’s official website, the duo also discussed the importance of holding a free and fair election. Nasheed told the ambassador that it was important to provide technical support to all state institutions including the police and the Elections Commission (EC) in order to ensure the credibility of the presidential polls.

He also expressed concern over current Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, who was found guilty of politicized tweets by the Police Integrity Commission.

Ambassador Sison meanwhile welcomed the outcome of the first round of election and commented on how well the election had been facilitated. She also urged all political parties to accept the results of the election and appealed to the public to maintain peace and order in the upcoming run-off elections.

The meeting was attended by Nasheed’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, MDP’s Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, former Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem, MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and MDP’s Deputy Chairperson Ali Shiyam.

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