JP protests outside EC Chair’s residence

The Jumhooree Party (JP) coalition staged a protest outside Elections Commission (EC) Chair Fuwad Thowfeek’s home last night with demonstrators calling for the EC Chair’s resignation, claiming the election was rigged.

A JP rally at the party’s main meeting hall in Maafanu Kunooz in Male’ was cut short last night while leaders of the JP and Adhaalath Party (AP) led the crowd to Fuwad’s residence near the water building on Ameenee Magu.

According to local media reports, police had set up barricades at the corner of the water building before the JP demonstrators gathered near the EC chair’s home.

While the demonstration was largely peaceful, police reportedly escorted a group of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) youth away from the JP protesters after verbal sparring between the two groups. The JP demonstrators then made their way back to M. Kunooz after about 20 minutes.

Threats were meanwhile made against Thowfeek and the EC’s Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz, as well as mocking comments about Thowfeek’s wife during a JP coalition rally held in Male’ on Monday night (September 9), attended by coalition supporters from the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), AP and former Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer.

Naseer threatened violence, saying neither he nor Gasim or any of their followers will hesitate to spill their blood ‘for God and country.’ “If you [Thowfeek] want to leave the country, you should do it now,” said Naseer.

In a press conference on Tuesday – shortly after filing a case at the High Court requesting a court order compelling the EC to release the voters list and result sheets – JP MP Ilham said that the party will not let Fuwad Thowfeek “do whatever he wants with the votes” while everyone had been talking about the importance of “nationalism and Islam”.

“We have our dogs inside Elections Commission. By dogs, we mean informers who inform as about what is going on inside the Elections Commission. Don’t you dare touch a single ballot paper inside there, we will chop off the hands of those who do so,” said Ilham.

He also appealed to the police to intervene in the matter.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday (September 10) about the threats of violence, Thowfeek responded: “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.

During an EC press conference yesterday, the commission announced legal action would be taken against those 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,” he continued. “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.

Clause 15 of section 28(a) outlining ethical guidelines in the election regulations (Dhivehi) prohibits calling a candidate or his supporters laadheenee (irreligious or secular).

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Preparations underway for second round of presidential election

Preparations are underway for the second round run-off of the presidential election scheduled for September 28.

Former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed, who placed first in the first round with 45.45 percent of the vote, will be facing off against runner up Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen who took 25.35 percent of the vote.

“There is so much work to be done before the second round, which is less than three weeks away,” EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek told Minivan News.

“We are expecting a few additions [to the voter registry list]. Twenty people reported their names were missing from the list, so their names will be added [so they can vote in the second round],” he explained. “[Additionally], people who registered for the first round but have since died will be removed from the voter list.”

“Proof is needed in either case – house registration or ID card if their name was missing from the registry list or a death certificate if the person has since passed away,” he noted.

Amid concerns raised by the Jumhoree Party (JP) that local media had reported polling figures that did not reflect those of the Elections Commission during the vote counting – a discrepancy which led to a skirmish between police and JP officials outside the Dharubaruge convention centre early Sunday morning – Thowfeek explained steps the commission will take to prevent such an occurrence during the second round.

“We are making the process as transparent as possible – by publishing the data as early as possible and making sure media and everybody has access the results and election process,” said Thowfeek. “Many [observer] passes have been issued to the media.”

He also noted that the four day voter re-registration period will be Thursday (September 12) to Sunday (September 15), so individuals registered to vote in one location can change that location according to their needs.

“After the re-registration period the list will be published, printed, signed, and sent – like during the first round,” he added.

In the lead up to the second round, the EC will be open 8am-10pm daily, except for Friday’s when it will be open 2pm-10pm.

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Presidential hopefuls differ on GMR: The Hindu

“Both the hopefuls in the Presidential race in Maldives said that they would welcome and encourage foreign direct investment, but differed on the issue of the ousted Male airport operator GMR,” writes R. K. Radhakrishnan for the Hindu newspaper.

“Former President Mohamed Nasheed and former President Maumoon Gayoom’s half-brother, Yaameen Abdulla, are pitted against each other in a second round run-off, scheduled for September 28. The first round, held on September 7, did not throw up a clear winner. To win, a candidate has to garner over 50 per cent of the votes.

Asked if he would invite GMR to come back to manage the Ibrahim Nasir International airport, Nasheed said: ‘We have always been saying that the contract has to be reinstated. Of course it has to go through procedures.’

The Nasheed Government had earlier granted the contract to GMR–MAHB (Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad) to operate the airport.

After he resigned under controversial circumstances on February 7, 2012, the next government, headed by Mohamed Waheed, terminated the contract, claiming it was invalid from the beginning. GMR had slapped a $1.4-billion compensation claim against the Maldives Government in an arbitration that is now underway in Singapore. Yaameen said that the contract was not done properly.

‘Foreign investment and GMR are two different issues. We welcome foreign investment. In the case of GMR, the law was not followed,’ he said, when asked about FDI in general and GMR in particular.

President Mohamed Waheed’s secretary Masood Imad too was of the view that the airport issue should be treated as closed. ‘GMR can come into Maldives with some other project. The Male’ airport is too much an emotional issue,’ he said.

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Comment: Yesterday, on the sunny side of life

This article first appeared on Dhivehisitee. Republished with permission.

Before the morning sun warmed up for the day, a white-truck with two big megaphones sticking out from the back began driving round and round the island. A woman’s voice, shrill, almost hysterical, called out to ‘all ye citizens’ and ‘the entire Maldivian Ummah’ to attend a Jumhoree Party rally at 9:00 in the evening. Her voice forced its way into my mind like a buruma [drill], resistance was futile. Jumhoree Party (JP) is contesting the election results, as everyone in Male’ knows by now; whether they want to or not.

Just in case the drill had missed a few heads, JP organised a press conference around noon. Ibrahim Khaleel, JP spokesperson and Ilham Ahmed, PPM MP for Gemanafushi constituency, led the affair. According to Khaleel, JP has a whole army of experts, ‘even foreign experts!’, scrutinising the results ‘on behalf of the people’. They have allegedly found 20,000 more votes than there are eligible voters. Over five hundred of them were dead. The rest may have been foreigners or aliens, or perhaps jinnis or even cursed coconuts.

Khaleel, a former TV presenter Qasim has bought for an undisclosed amount of money, was outraged on behalf of his Master. ‘Even my name, my name, already had a tick against it when I got to the polling booth’, he said. For a millisecond I thought his name was on the ballot paper itself. But, no, it was on the voter registry, audaciously and fraudulently ticked by some devious Elections Commission secret agent before Khaleel cast his vote. Didn’t these people know who Khaleel is? Perhaps they aren’t on Facebook, some users of which are reportedly rather intimately acquainted with Khaleel.

PPM’s Ilham couldn’t wait to jump in with his own anecdotes of voting woes. He personally knew two foreigners, ‘two of them(!)’ who voted on Saturday. They were now under lock and key, their fingers bearing the ‘I voted’ indelible ink on their left index fingers most likely put away in separate glass boxes, waiting for the right time to be revealed to the public. In contrast to the foreign digits under JP’s protective custody, Ilham’s right index finger was fancy free. It kept jabbing the air, probably making Qasim Ibrahim—who thinks the gesture is terribly, terribly uncouth—cringe with every poke. It made me notice the gleaming gold watch on Ilham’s wrist, which is probably the intended effect.  It completed the chav look Ilham seems to aspire to.

Ilham called for the resignation of the Elections Commission. ‘They must resign now! For the sake of the baby growing inside me, resign now!’ My eyes stopped following his finger and focused on his face, gleaming with a sheen of sweat mixed with the gel that holds his carefully constructed fringe in place. This was big news. MP Ilham is pregnant. Well, anything is possible in Male’ these days. If a sitting president can still sit after a five percent vote; if a Supreme Court judge can still remain on the bench after being caught on camera fornicating with three prostitutes; if a member of the Civil Service Commission can still turn up to office after being removed from the position multiple times for sexually harassing a civil servant…a pregnant man appears almost mundane. None of the journalists present took note. Perhaps this is the reason why Ilham launched into a tirade against their lack of professionalism shortly after.

‘I was a journalist myself for years! Years!,’ he said. Oh? He proceeded to share everything he knew—all of five minutes worth—about journalism. Apparently, journalists can’t ask questions. Their role is to take notes. Reporters are glorified stenographers, really, according to Ilham. It was just past noon, and I felt thoroughly educated.

As the sun set, the shrill mega-phone lady was still going round and round the island. Hush-a-hush-a, or I’ll fall down, I thought. No such relief. The only thing left to do was to attend the rally—if you can’t beat them, join them. But JP’s was not the only major gig on, PPM was also hosting a rally at the same time, on the opposite side of the island at Alimas Carnival.

MNBC One news had reported Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, the world’s most unpopular sitting president, was to make an appearance. I was spoilt for choice — should I go to JP’s hate-festival or to the President’s post-First Round debut. I decided the latter line-up was the one not to be missed. Adhaalath’s rent-a-sheikhs have an endless supply of hate, there would be more tonight and every night after that until 28 September.

Alimas Carnival stage did not disappoint. All sorts of clever lighting made the area look a bit like Glastonbury at night. Except the festival goers could not have been more different. Most were over fifty, at least. Except one or two, every woman wore a headscarf. Not the trending burugaas that make a large share of today’s modern Maldivian women look like they have a beehive sitting on top of their heads, but the more ‘truly religious’ big black ones.

All in all, there were about a thousand people, sitting on plastic deck chairs or milling about on foot or sitting on motorbikes. Three large screens stood adjacent to each other, taking up most of the large stage. When I got there two of the three screens had a picture of Mohamed Nasheed with a black band covering his eyes, and the one in the middle screamed in bold red letters, ‘No!’ For some reason, medieval church-type music played on the speakers, alternated with ‘patriotic’ songs glorifying the coup of 7 February 2012.

PPM’s rally was not about PPM and what it plans to do for the people should Yameen Abdul G-g-g-ayoom win the Second Round but about saying ‘No to Nasheed.’ Excuse me, Kenereegey Mohamed Nasheed, as PPM lurves to call him. As if that would make him any less a former President.

MP Ahmed Nihan, a man who derives energy from an endless supply of hate contained within, bounded onto the stage, much to the delight of the ladies. It was like a Tom Jones concert where old(er) women are known to throw their panties at their ageing sex God. At any moment now, I thought, they’d be taking off their burugaas and throwing them at Nihan.

‘Laa Dheenee, Laa Dheenee, Laa Dheenee! Laa Dheene Nasheeeeeeeeed!’, he screamed. Hitler had less veins standing out in his neck during his rallies. The buruga clad women forgot about hell’s fires burning if they so much as giggled, and screamed hysterically, applauding the hate like it was free love.

Speaking of Hitler, Nihan launched straight into anti-Semitism. Israeli newspaper Times of Israel had publisheda report online ‘on 8 September, at 2:33pm(!!!)’ with the headline ‘Ousted Israel-Friendly Leader…’. O.Em.Gee. ‘We all know what friend means, even those of us with the most rudimentary English’, Nihan said, excluding himself from this bracket, of course. ‘A friend of Israel (!!!), we cannot allow such a man to become our leader. Not under any circumstances! Say NOOO to Kenereegey Mohamed Nasheeed!’

And so it continued in this vein, speaker after speaker. Former President Gayoom, who as usual, spoke before the actual PPM candidate Yameen; Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Yameen’s running mate; Maldives Development Alliance’s MP Siam; and so on. They all had the same message: do not vote for Nasheed.

There were only a couple of deviations from the subject. Nihan made a coy pronouncement that ‘some things have not gone according to announcements in the media.’ President Waheed did not make an appearance. Celebrities, as you know, don’t always turn up when you expect them to, Nihan explained. Another significant declaration issued was by Jameel:

We will not allow Mohamed Nasheed to return to power even if he wins the election.

The grand finale was an anti-Nasheed propaganda video that would give North Koreans a run for their money.

Today is another day, packed with the same sort of ‘campaigning’, no doubt.

Dr Azra Naseem has a PhD in international relations.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected].

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Will Nasheed pull it off again in the run-off?

If there is anything unanticipated about the presidential polls in Maldives, it is the date of the run-off, second round. The Election Commission (EC) has declared that the second-round polling will be held on Saturday, 28 September, and not a week ahead as forecast earlier.

Otherwise, the Maldivian voter has given the expected verdict in the first round of polling on Saturday, 7 September. Despite hard-nosed campaigning by the four contenders, the voter has declared – for a second time in five years – that none in the race could win over their confidence and secure a mandate in the first round.

Given the contemporary nature of the nation’s politics, this time’s front-runner – and former president – Mohammed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has little elbow room to look for willing coalition partners for the second round in order to make up for the five-percent vote-gap that denied him a win in the first round. If the trend from the past continues, it could then be a coalition of the runners-up against the front-runner, who can at best then campaign in a ‘coalition with the people’ – which did not take the MDP to its electoral goal in the first round.

It has been a loud commentary on the state of politics since the country became a multi-party democracy five years ago. At the time, the MDP was a second-round beneficiary of a hasty coalition that was put in place after the results for the first round were out. Today, the very same party and the very same candidate who came to power on a coalition platform are contesting alone, and campaigning for a non-coalition set-up for the nation.

As per the EC declaration, Nasheed cornered a high 45.45 percent vote-share instead the 50 percent-plus-one vote required for a first-round victory. He was followed by former minister Abdulla Yameen, with 25.35 per cent, Gasim Ibrahim (24.07 percent), and incumbent President Mohammed Waheed Hassan (5.13 percent). Yameen belongs to the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), while Gasim is the founder of the Jumhooree Party (JP). President Waheed contested as an independent as his Gaumee Ittihad Party could not register the revised minimum 10,000-membership – unilaterally fixed by Parliament – after the MDP and PPM joined hands.

If electoral participation is the hallmark of any democracy, Maldives has it in abundance. The first-round voting figure this time was 88.48 percent of the total 240,000-strong electorate. It compares more enviable than the high 85.38 percent and the even higher 86.58 percent vote-share in the first and second round, respectively, in the first-ever multi-party presidential polls of 2008.

With a 15 percent increase in the electorate over the past five years, the voter-turnout this time is also a better reflection on the revived interest of the first-time voters in the democratic process than was anticipated during the run-up to the polls. However, with a second-round now on the cards, the competing parties would have to keep the voter-enthusiasm at an equally high, if not higher levels, in the second-round.

Gasim’s decision on the second-round alliance could also decide if he or his party would move to the court on their post-poll allegation of more voters than the registered number at some ballot-boxes. Elections Commission President Fuwad Thowfeek, who announced the first round results five hours after the scheduled time in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday (September 8), denied the JP’s claim but has promised to look into specific complaints.

The judiciary’s position also ensured ‘inclusive elections’ that the international community in particular had sought, considering that no one in Maldives had contested the MDP’s position as the largest political party with the highest membership – and Nasheed as the most popular leader/candidate in the country. It is another matter that the judiciary at all levels had conducted themselves with the kind of dignity that political critics would not grant it – after the MDP-dominated Government Overseas Committee in Parliament had tried to haul up three subordinate judges trying Nasheed’s case.

A ‘few more thousand’ votes?

In his first reaction to the first-round results, Nasheed reportedly said that the party would launch its second-round campaign to get “a few more thousand votes” that he did not get to make for an outright victory. To be precise, with 95,244 votes in his kitty, Nasheed would have required 10,751 more votes to make it to the presidency in the first round.

Against this, PPM’s Yameen, a half-brother of party founder and Nasheed’s presidential predecessor Gayoom, declared that they would get 60 percent and more in the second-round. Clearly, he was referring to a non-MDP coalition, which would still have only added up to the higher, yet residual, 54.55 percent after deducting Nasheed’s take-home in the first-round.

Both claims read good on paper, but the ground realities are not as simple as that. The MDP leadership, cadre, and candidate needs to be congratulated for taking their vote-share from Nasheed’s 24.91 percent first-round figure in 2008 to 45.45 percent, an unprecedented 80 percent increase over past five years. Yet, with the party straining every nerve by the hour over the past one-and-half years, without leaving anything to chance, adding every new vote and every new voter (to the turnout) in the second-round is going to be more difficult than is acknowledged.

For Yameen, coalition-formation itself is the starting-point for problems or benefits – and in that order. PPM chief Gayoom lost no time in meeting party managers to discuss and finalise the second-round strategy even as the results from the first round were trickling in. Long before the first-round polls, he had pledged his support to Gasim, his own runner-up now, should the latter end up being the number two after Nasheed.

A reluctant Gasim returned the assurance much later. With his party contesting the vote-count for the second-place, it remains to be seen how Gasim – with possibly the highest number of ‘transferrable votes’ – would react. He could be expected to insist on a done-deal with the PPM (probably) not only for government-formation but also for the subsequent local council polls (December) and more importantly for the parliamentary elections, due in May 2014. It was in the absence of a fully-operational deal that he and his running-mate Hassan Saeed found themselves out of the Nasheed government even before the ink on their purported pacts had dried the last time round.

With Gasim’s JP heading a coalition itself, Yameen and PPM would also have to talk to the Adhaalath Party and Hassan Saeed’s Dhivehi Quamee Party, as well as President Waheed and his running-mate Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. It can be protracted and painstaking, which in the glare of media lights, the Maldivian voter may not be happy about – given the character of an emerging coalition of the kind, after the past five years of instability and destabilisation.

In Gasim’s company was also Gayoom’s brother-in-law Ilyas Ibrahim, a former cabinet minister with his share of voters in certain islands. Ilyas had backed ‘PPM rebel’ Umar Naseer for the party’s presidential nomination. The two walked out of the PPM to back Gasim, and he cannot be seen as deserting the duo for Yameen without having second thoughts or commitments.

Should the second-round contest go on in a predicted way, then a lot would depend on the voter-turnout and the possibilities of many of them shifting loyalties from the first-round commitment. An exhausting first-round turnout also means that there is more room left for maneuverability. An additional percentage point or two could make the difference to the results in a way. A deduction in that figure could make any second-round prediction even more complex and complicated.

The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Democracy, Take Two: Foreign Affairs

“Most of the million tourists who visit the Maldives every year leave without seeing even a hint of the political violence that has shaken the country over the past few years,” writes Eric Randolph for Foreign Affairs.

“Sipping cocktails in secluded island resorts, one would be hard-pressed to imagine that the islanders were, until five years ago, ruled by Asia’s longest-running dictatorship, that hundreds have been seriously injured in street clashes and at least one senior politician stabbed to death in the street in recent years, and that hard-line political Islamists helped to topple the country’s first-ever democratically elected president only last year.

It can also be difficult to believe that what happens here matters to the rest of the world. But stability in the Maldives — a Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people scattered across almost 1,200 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean — is important. The country lies on a major trade route between East Africa and China and could function either as a bulwark against piracy and smuggling or part of the problem.

It also demonstrates the danger of Saudi-funded clerics spreading Islamic militancy to once-moderate Muslim countries, potentially threatening neighboring countries such as India. Finally, as the Maldives holds its first post-coup election, it offers important lessons for other nations in transition. Indeed, the challenges it has faced since introducing its new constitution in 2008 — dealing with the legacy of past authoritarianism and managing the threats unleashed by democracy — reflect those of other countries undergoing rapid change, from Burma to Egypt and beyond.”

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Maldives’ central bank aware of speculation over counterfeit five rufiya notes

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) is aware of rumors that counterfeit five rufiya notes are in circulation, however they have received no official information or reports from the Maldives Police Service (MPS), reports local media.

The MMA – the Maldives’ central bank – is aware of “speculation” that newly-forged counterfeit currency is circulating in Addu City and other atolls, but no official police reports have been submitted, an official from MMA told local media.

“We have heard this from different sources. But we’ve not received any such information from the police,” the official said.

Police intelligence has received information that approximately 1000 fake five rufiyaa notes entered Hithadhoo ward of Addu City, Addu City police commander Station Inspector Mohamed Hassan told Sun Online last week.

Police intelligence sources obtained a counterfeit note from the group suspected to have brought the money into Addu City, said Hassan.

A layman would not be able to initially determine their (in)authenticity, he added.

Rumors of the counterfeit currency began circulating in Addu City and other atoll islands last week.

“A lot of forged five rufiyaa notes are going around in this island. There are rumors that certain stores are handing out forged five rufiyaa notes as change,” a person from Eydhafushi Island in Baa Atoll told Sun Online.

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High Court rejects Jumhoree Party’s case contesting election result

The High Court has rejected a case filed by the Jumhoree Party(JP) seeking the release of the voters list and result sheets in the first round of presidential elections held on Saturday, in which its candidate Gasim Ibrahim polled third by just over one percent.

In a short statement, the High Court said the case did not fit the situations stipulated in article 64 of the Elections Act of 2008. Under provision 17(f) election regulations, the Elections Commission (EC) cannot release this information without a court order.

While local and international election observers have broadly praised the conduct of Saturday’s presidential elections, Gasim has contested the results and called for a criminal investigation of the Chair and Vice Chair of the EC for allegedly tampering with the outcome.

Gasim Ibrahim declared at a press conference yesterday that he would not accept the results released by the EC, contesting that the vote had been rigged and that his party’s officials had come across several discrepancies during the ballot.

The presidential poll showed the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate former President Mohamed Nasheed finishing at the top of the race, securing 95,224 votes (45.45 percent while Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen securing 53,099 (25.35 percent) to finish second.

Gasim Ibrahim finished the race at third place securing 50,422 votes (24.07 percent) while incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan received 10,750 votes, finishing last with 5.13 percent of popular vote.

The EC has maintained that the commission did not consider the complaints credible while Vice Chair of Elections Commission Ahmed Fayaz described the accusations levied against the commission as “ridiculous” and “baseless”.

In a press conference on Tuesday – shortly after filing the case at the High Court – Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Ahmed Ilham said that the party will not let the Chair of the commission Fuwad Thowfeek “do whatever he wants with the votes” while everyone had been talking about the importance of “nationalism and Islam”.

“We have our dogs inside Elections Commission. By dogs, we mean informers who inform as about what is going on inside the Elections Commission. Don’t you dare touch a single ballot paper inside there, we will chop off the hands of those who do so,” said Ilham.

Gasim’s spokesperson Ibrahim Khaleel told the press that the party will not back down and would do everything it can to seek justice “even if the commission goes on to hold the run-off election.”

“The Head of State must call for a nation-wide investigation in order to maintain the credibility of the entire electoral process,” said Khaleel.

Khaleel also lambasted the Vice Chair of Elections Commission Fayaz Ahmed, whom Khaleel alleged was sharing confidential information with personal friends.

“Following a meeting with us and the Elections Commission, this Fayaz had told his friends that we talked to the members of the Elections Commission very rudely. Does he have to tell his friends that? What kind of professionalism is this?” Khaleel questioned.

“How come the meeting minutes of Elections Commission are being shared among his personal friends? You don’t take matters of work to home,” he added.

Khaleel also alleged that Elections Commission have “begun a special operation to cover up their wrong doings and fraud”. He also appealed the police to intervene and “help the people get justice”.

Khaleel also echoed similar sentiments as his party leader Gasim Ibrahim, who claimed that he should have finished the race in first place, had the election been “not rigged”.

“We have a team of highly trained campaign experts who consist of PhD holders and other intellectuals who have been trained by Gasim Ibrahim. We also had international experts on our team. The team had estimated that Gasim would gain at least 68,000 votes even in the worst case scenario. We know there is something wrong. We will uncover the whole plot,” Khaleel said.

JP MP Ilham called on the members of Election Commission to “honourably resign” and allow police to intervene and investigate the matter.

“I urge all commission members who did not partake in this scandal to come out to media and tell the public that they are ready to allow police to intervene and investigate. If you don’t do so, you will forever be labelled as traitors who betrayed our beloved nation,” Ilham said.

JP’s alleged discrepancies

The discrepancies which the JP alleges include: double voting, votes cast in the name of people who died prior to the election, inaccurate voter registry, lack of transparency during ballot counting, election officials being biased and aligning themselves towards MDP candidate Nasheed and PPM candidate Yameen.

Speaking during a rally held last Monday, Gasim claimed that 20,000 people had bypassed the rules and regulations and cast their votes “unlawfully”.

The resort tycoon also said that he had obtained more than 70,000 votes during Saturday’s election, but claimed the EC had reduced the number to 50,000.

If the EC had not done so, Gasim  claimed, he would have been leading the poll and MDP candidate former President Nasheed would have been trailing behind him. Gasim alleged that the EC robbed JP of 20,000 votes and gifted them to the MDP.

“I will never forgive this atrocity carried out by the Elections Commission. I will never forgive them ever,” Gasim said, during the rally.

Gasim also called on the members of the EC to “resign and go home” if they were unable to execute their duties.

Reflecting on the court case, Gasim said that he hoped that the High Court and the Supreme Court would not refuse to give him and his supporters the justice they were seeking.

“My plea to the court is to speed up cases filed regarding these critical issues. To look into it and give a just judgement. I don’t believe the courts will decide wrongly on this matter,” Gasim said.

The JP leader also noted that it was too early to talk about coalitions, but the party would decide of this after the matter of its defeat was decided in the courts.

“Currently, there are no candidates that I should endorse,” Gasim said. “By the will of Allah, Gasim Ibrahim will be sworn in as the next president on November 11.”

Meanwhile, during the same rally, former deputy leader of PPM Umar Naseer – who backed Gasim in the poll – accused the commission of giving MDP members 30,000 additional ballot papers to tamper with the outcome of the election.

EC was “well prepared” for poll, say international observers amidst accusations

Despite the allegations, international observers have broadly praised the conduct of Saturday’s election, notably the peaceful voting throughout the day and preparedness of the Elections Commission.

“It is clear that the Elections Commission was logistically well-prepared for this election. Election material was distributed in time to the atolls and overall the process was well-administered. It was positively noted that significant majority of polling officials were women,” read a statement given by the former Prime Minister of Malta Dr Lawrence Gonzi who led the Commonwealth’s observer group.

Meanwhile J M Lyngdoh of the Indian team of election observers stated that the “polling was orderly and unblemished by any notable incident. It was also an enjoyable experience for the voter.”

“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,” Lyngdoh noted in his statement.

The US also congratulated the Maldives on the conduct of the first round of voting with US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf noting that “The very high voter turnout showed the strong commitment of the people of Maldives to democratic government”.

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

Transparency Maldives Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed said in 14.5 percent of ballot boxes where controversy occurred during counting, these would not have impacted the overall outcome of the first placed candidate.

As neither of the four candidates who contested in Saturday’s election were able to obtained the required ’50 percent plus one vote’ to secure a first round election victory, the Elections Commission has announced that a run-off election will take place on September 28.

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MDP MPs alcohol possession case continues

The second hearing into Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamed Abdul Ghafoor’s alcohol and cannabis possession case was cancelled today after the accused failed to attend.

A Criminal Court official told Sun Online today that Hamed did not appear at the 10am hearing.

Sun also reported that Hamed’s fellow MDP MP Abdulla Jabir – also accused of possession of alcohol and cannabis – had his passport held by immigration officials when trying to leave the country yesterday.

Jabir’s wife – former Attorney General Dhiyana Saeed – told Sun Online that a passport could only be withheld after announcing the charges against the accused at a first hearing.

Whilst Ghafoor was in attendance at the cases first hearing at the start of the month, Jabir did not. Dhiyana today explained that her husband had not been handed the summons requesting his attendance for this hearing, as he had been campaigning with his party in the atolls.

Both MPs are facing charges of smuggling alcohol into the country and consuming it, as well as possession of cannabis and objecting to urine testing.

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