Supreme Court declares current president will remain past November 11

The Supreme Court has ruled that their verdict annulling the September 7 elections remains in effect, and declared that the current President Mohamed Waheed and his government will remain in power if a new government is not elected by November 11.

The verdict – signed by four of the seven judges sitting on the Supreme Court bench – contradicts the parliamentary motion to appoint Speaker Abdulla Shahid as an interim President in the event that a new elected President cannot be sworn in by November 11.

According to local media, the order was signed by Judge Ali Hameed, Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi, Abdulla Saeed and Abdulla Areef – the same four who annulled the September 7 polls based on a secret police report discredited by an expert UN review.

The verdict was issued in a case submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) lawyer Ibrahim ‘Wadde’ Waheed, seeking the court to declare illegal parliament’s motion to appoint the Speaker as the interim president.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers have meanwhile circulated an appeal calling on their fellow soldiers not to obey “unlawful” orders issued by President Waheed or his political appointees, following the expiry of his presidential term at midnight on November 10.

The five-page document, signed by 73 officers including many mid-ranking officers, is titled “An appeal to soldiers to maintain their oath to be professional and apolitical.”

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