Tag: EC

PG assures Election Commission it will be protected

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has today assured the Elections Commission (EC) that it will do all it can to ensure the constitution is upheld after receiving a complaint regarding the behaviour of the security forces.

The PG issued a statement acknowledging receiving the EC’s complaint that the security forces had ‘hijacked’ the EC the evening before the scheduled second round of the presidential election.

In a statement the PG’s office assured the EC that it would take any action necessary to carry out its responsibilities as stated in Article 233(j) and Act Number 9/2008 15(j) to uphold the constitution, laws and rights of the people.

On September 27 when police were surrounding the EC building, commission President Fuwad Thowfeek told Minivan News “We will not be able to hold elections without support from the police. The police will stop any election preparation activity.”

Thowfeek said the EC members had been met by two officers “to get our assurance the preparation activities have been stopped.”

Special Operations (SO) police surrounded the EC secretariat with orders from Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz to take over the building and ballot papers.

The police barricade followed a Supreme Court order calling on the security forces to prevent anyone from disobeying a previous injunction to delay the second round of presidential elections.

The injunction was issued after the the Jumhooree Party (JP) filed a case at the Supreme Court alleging that there were major issues with the voter registration and requesting to cancel the first round of the presidential election and to delay the second round.

On October 8, the Supreme Court annulled the first round of the election and ordered the elections commission to hold the first round again before 20 October.

The EC has announced the re-vote will take place on October 19, leaving voters less than 24 hours to re-register due to the upcoming Eid holidays.

EC member Ogaru Ibrahim Waheed has today resigned, reports local media, though the reasons for his departure are not yet known.

On the evening in question, the police cordoned off the area around the EC and ordered journalists at the scene to leave. One EC official told Minivan News, on condition of anonymity, that staff were not being allowed to enter the building.

The PG’s office said that the case alleged security forces had obstructed the legal duties of an independent commission established under the constitution. It stated that the office was now discussing the matter with the EC.

Shortly after its acknowledgement that conditions were not appropriate for a free and fair polls, the EC filed a report with the police following multiple death threats received by its staff.

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Fire outbreak in workshop next to EC president’s house

Local media has reported that last night there was a fire outbreak in a workshop next to Elections Commission (EC) president Fuwad Thowfeek’s house.

According to the media the incident occurred last night at about 10:30pm.

Owner of the workshop has told newspaper Sun Online that the incident occurred when someone threw ashes down on the workshop roof causing a tire to catch fire.

According to the newspapers the fire was controlled quickly before it could spread.

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US encourages all parties to accept first round results

The US has hailed the results of the first round of the presidential election in the Maldives as a “victory for the democratic process”.

In a statement, Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department Marie Harf noted that the results had been “widely hailed as a success” by the Commonwealth, United Nations, and local Maldivian observers.

The comment comes as Jumhooree Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim, who placed third with 24.07 percent and narrowly missed a place in the run-off, contests a case in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the results, alleging electoral irregularities.

The JP was supported in the ongoing court case by the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), while Attorney General Azima Shukoor also intervened and criticised the conduct of the Elections Commission.

“As the country prepares for the second round on September 28, the United States and the international community again stand ready to assist Maldivians as they exercise their fundamental right to choose their own government,” declared the US State Department.

“For this final round to be as successful as the previous round, all political parties must respect the democratic process and continue to allow for a free, fair and peaceful vote to take place. We encourage all parties and all presidential candidates to respect the results and work together for a peaceful transition for the benefit of the Maldivian people,” the statement concluded.

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Deadline for voter re-registration to expire August 7

Voters registered for this year’s presidential election have one month left to notify the Election’s Commission (EC) of any change to their permanent residence on the official registry, or else face having to travel to that address to cast their ballot.

The deadline for eligible voters to re-register their current permanent residence on the registry will expire at 16:00pm on August 7 – a month to the day before polling is scheduled to take place.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives told Minivan News today that the process for re-registration was “pretty straightforward”, but vital to ensure that any voter expected to be in a different country or island on polling day would not have to travel potentially significant distances to cast their ballot.

Members of the public wishing to re-register are required to fill a form that can be downloaded here.

Once completed and signed, the form must be submitted at a specially designated area at several locations across the country.

These locations are:

  • Addu City – Addu City Council office
  • Male’ – EC office
  • Hulhumale’ – Gazee school common room
  • Vilimale’ – Fishermen Training Centre

For all other islands in the country, re-registration forms must be submitted to the local island council office.

According to Transparency Maldives, the completed re-registration form must be signed and submitted along with a copy of either a valid national ID card, a passport or license card with a photo. The original form of ID must also be shown when submitting the form, according to EC requirements.

For anyone wishing to re-register for another person, the EC requires the signed form to be submitted with both the voter’s own valid ID, as well as a copy of the ID of the individual submitting the form on their behalf.

Re-registration process

Transparency Maldives told Minivan News in May that the issue of voters wishing to re-register their permanent place of residence with the EC had been a key concern in the build up to September’s election.

Taking the case of a Maldives national living abroad in Malaysia or Sri Lanka, the NGO previously said that unless a voter re-registered their details with the EC to use a ballot box in that country, they would need to return to their place of permanent residence on polling day.

Transparency Maldives has said that the EC had since been travelling to islands across the country to try and raise awareness over the issue, which reflected what it claimed were “progressive improvements” in the commission’s work to keep voters informed.

Transparency Project Director Aiman Rasheed today said that re-registration had been a “huge issue” during the 2008 presidential election – the first multi-party democratic poll ever held in the Maldives at the time.

However, Rasheed expressed optimism that the EC had this year been given much more time to clean up and amend errors and out of date information in the present voter registry.

“After the constitution was passed in August 2008, there was a truncated period of time before voting was able to take place,” he said, referring to voting that took place just two months later in October of the same year.

Rasheed added that having since held several democratic elections, including voting on local councils back in February 2011, the EC had since had a lot of experience in updating the voter registry.

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Presidential election regulations unveiled as rival parties slam state commitment to free and fair polls

The Elections Commission (EC) has unveiled new regulations  for the presidential election set for September 7 this year, claiming “comprehensive changes” have been made to the legal framework used five years ago.

EC Vice President Ahmed Fayaz told Minivan News that the latest regulations were drawn up with consultation from political parties and NGOs – providing more than just a “cosmetic change” to the framework used for the country’s first ever multi-party democratic elections in 2008.

Both opposition and government-aligned parties competing directly against President Dr Mohamed Waheed in September have alleged that even with new regulations in place, there were concerns that the incumbent was using state resources unconstitutionally to unfairly influence voters.

The allegations have been denied by the President’s Office, which maintains that it has done nothing to try and unfairly influence voters.

EC optimism

EC Vice President Fayaz said that despite the allegations raised by various parties this week, the commission was “very optimistic” about its ability to ensure elections were free and fair in September with the new presidential election regulations – said to have undergone drastic changes since 2008.

“The 2008 regulation was actually formatted in a rush and the EC was given about 60 days to do its work,” he said of the legal outline used for the last presidential election. “From the feedback we have received [regarding the new election regulation] nobody has said that they were bad,” he claimed.

The Regulation on the Presidential Election was published online Monday (May 20) in the Government Gazette.

Fayaz added that the EC had so far received “no formal complaints” from political parties in the country regarding concerns that September’s elections would not be free and fair.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said he had not personally had chance to review the new regulations for September’s election at present.

Undermined

Ghafoor said that despite concerns about the functioning of the country’s independent institutions, the MDP had been “comfortable” with the ongoing work of the EC.

Yet no matter how comprehensive the new elections regulation for September’s vote was, he said MDP continued to hold concerns that credible elections were being undermined by both the recent conduct of the government and the country’s police and security forces.

Ghafoor claimed that party fear’s were partly based around the recent conduct of police around the country, as well as ongoing concerns raised by both the party and independent experts over the independence of country’s judiciary, as well as its watchdog body, the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

Meanwhile, the Maldives’ Police Service has previously denied arresting approximately 50 people – primarily MDP supporters – the night prior to President Mohamed Waheed’s arrival in Addu City on May 8.

Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig told Minivan News that before Waheed’s arrival, close to 50 people were arrested, “and about 90 percent of those taken in were MDP supporters”.

These arrests were made under the “’Our Peaceful Addu City” operation, which the police have said was established to make the atoll “crime free”.

Political ends

Ghafoor also leveled criticisms at President Waheed directly, accusing him of unconstitutionally spending state fund on his own campaigning, while also making development pledges not included within budgeted funds during recent tours of the country.

He also pointed the centralised utilities ‘Fenaka’ corporation that was formed last June as an example of President Waheed’s use of government-owned enterprise to provide his own supporters with jobs.

“We have seen this government rape institutions like the police and state companies for their own political ends,” Ghafoor claimed. “These are unconstitutional actions we are seeing by the state.”

PPM “concerns”

MP Abdulla Yameen, presidential candidate for the government-aligned PPM, this week told local media that he understood “concerns” raised by MDP candidate Mohamed Nasheed regarding President Waheed’s use of state resources for campaigning.

“That is, the way [the government] is doing things, there are problems over whether we could reach free and fair elections. The Auditor General and ACC [Anti-Corruption Commission] have taken note of this,” Yameen told local media.

While accepting an incumbent would have advantages for campaigning while in power, Yameen called on the government to consult with the Auditor General’s Office and ACC to put rules in place for campaigning within legal bounds and in line with the principles of good governance.

The PPM parliamentary group leader also criticised the government’s decision to sack Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed from his position of home minister following his decision to stand against President Waheed as Yameen’s running mate.

The government at the time cited Dr Jameel’s decision to stand as Yameen’s running mate as representing a conflict of interest, claiming any other cabinet minister standing directly against Dr Waheed would also have to be dismissed ahead of September’s voting.

Cabinet ministers in a coalition government are not obliged to assist the president’s election campaign, Yameen added this week.

He also claimed that PPM has not been given the number of government posts promised by Dr Waheed more than a year ago with the formation of the coalition government.

Former Home Minister Dr Jameel, meanwhile said he believed that appointments to government posts and creation of government-owned companies ahead of the election was intended to influence the outcome.

Government response

The President’s Office has rejected allegations that the government was working to exert undue influence on voters through state resources or funds, accusing both the MDP and PPM of making allegations without any evidence.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said that politicians seeking to run for office should therefore act responsibly and avoid making baseless accusations against the government.

“I will say on the record that we are not engaged in any activity that would give us an unfair advantage [in September’s election],” he said.

Responding directly to the MDP’s allegations that the state were using government-owned bodies such as the Fenaka Corporation to gain political influence, Masood claimed that the company was presently headed by a PPM member, leaving president Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) with little influence to do so.

“Fenaka has much more PPM and MDP members working for it than it does GIP supporters,” he said. “Fenaka is headed up by a PPM member, so we do not have any control over this. We do already have difficulty with GIP members ringing us up and asking for jobs,” he said,

Masood concluded that President Waheed had done nothing to exert his influence on voters, claiming appointments made to state institutions following the controversial transfer of power remaining almost unchanged since they were formed under the present administration.

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ACC confirms GIP investigation; Transparency calls for inter-agency taskforce to tackle state resources misuse

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has confirmed it is investigating President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihad Party (GIP) over allegations the party used state records to fill out membership forms in an effort to bulk up its numbers.

The party has denied the allegations, with Haveeru citing a GIP official as insisting: “we got members to sign for our party by taking to the streets of Male’ and visiting the islets. People are leveling various allegations because we managed to reach 10,000 members at the last minute.”

GIP spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Party membership is not necessarily a reflection of voting support in the Maldives. However, with the introduction of the recent political parties bill, parties are required to have a minimum membership of 10,000 to be formally recognised by the Elections Commission (EC) and receive state funding.

The passage of the bill earlier this year – passed by a parliament largely controlled by the country’s three largest political parties – left small parties with little parliamentary representation such as GIP, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), Adhaalath Party (AP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) facing potential dissolution.

Of these parties, only the AP was able to obtain the required membership before the bill came into effect. The fate of the others was put on hold following a Supreme Court injunction, while they sought to reach the required membership.

The Elections Commission has meanwhile expressed concerns about fraudulent membership forms being submitted.

Use of state resources

Transparency Maldives has called for police, the EC, ACC and Prosecutor General’s Office to create an “interagency taskforce” to tackle election issues such as the misuse of state resources.

Senior Project Coordinator Azim Zahir said while a party such as GIP was in the spotlight due to their connection with the incumbent president, attention was also required at local council level.

“It’s not just trips made by a President [before an election]. During our pre-election assessment we met local councils who told us police transport was being used by candidates of certain political parties,” he noted, citing one example.

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim told newspaper Haveeru last week that President Waheed’s visits to islands and pledging of infrastructure projects could be considered campaigning at the state’s expense.

As Niyaz believed public funds and resources should not be used for campaigning, the Auditor General’s Office was in the process of drafting campaign finance rules to distinguish official visits from campaign trips.

The recommendations would be based on the American model, he added, and shared with the President’s Office and parliamentary committees.

Under this model, the president would be advised to announce campaign trips in advance and reimburse the office for expenses incurred during unofficial trips.

A formula would be recommended to identify unofficial components of official trips, Niyaz explained.

“The main purpose of these rules is to recover the cost of unofficial trips. We are looking to make the rules public along with the President’s Office audit report,” he was was quoted as saying at the time.

The Elections Commission has meanwhile told local media that the commission was powerless to prevent political activities outside the official campaigning period of 120 days prior to the election.

“After the announcement of the presidential election, we will take all necessary action within the authority and powers of the commission. Compliance bureaus will be established and officials of the commission will be deployed to every island in which voting will take place. According to the law, political activities conducted before that cannot be stopped,” Vice President of the EC Ahmed Fayaz told Sun Online.

Transparency Maldives Project Coordinator Zahir stated however that major parties had already begun campaigning, and noted that the US model provided for an ‘informal’ campaigning period ahead of the official period.

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Elections Commission to respond after Supreme Court issues injunction on dissolution of parties

The Elections Commission (EC) is to decide on how it is to proceed following Supreme Court’s temporary injunction on the dissolution of political parties.

The court issued the temporary stay order on Thursday (March 14) after Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor filed a case claiming that sections of the recently ratified Political Parties Act were in contradiction to the constitution.

Local media reported that Supreme Court had asked all authorities not to consider any party as dissolved until the case is decided.

President of the EC, Fuad Thaufeeq revealed that the commission would make a decision regarding what action would be taken in response to the Supreme Court’s order.

“The commission will sit tomorrow (March 17) to discuss and decide on how we shall proceed. We have to respect and obey court orders,” Fuad told Minivan News via SMS.

The Political Parties Bill – ratified by President Mohamed Waheed on Tuesday (March 12) – states that parties must now meet a minimum of 10,000 members before they can be recognised as such.

Following the bill’s approval by President Waheed, a total of 11 parties were removed of the EC’s political party registry, leaving five to compete in upcoming presidential elections later this year.

When asked whether the EC would now reinstate the parties removed off its registry prior the Supreme Court’s final decision on the case, Fuad stated: “We will follow the court’s orders.”

Out of the 16 parties that had previously existed prior to the ratification of the bill, only the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhoree Party (JP) and Adhaalath Party (AP) remain registered in the Maldives.

EC Vice President Ahmed Fayaz previously told Minivan News that the EC had removed parties that did not meet the required membership amount in “accordance to the law”.

“We followed procedure in accordance to the [Political Parties] bill. Within that bill there is a clause that clearly states, that when a party that has less than 10,000 members it is to become null and void,” he said.

It had been previously reported that upon ratification of the bill, political parties with fewer than 10,000 members would have three months to reach the required amount or face dissolution.

When asked about the clause, Fayaz stated it only applied to registered parties in accordance to the bill, and that therefore if a party does not meet the 10,000 limit it cannot be classed as such and is therefore exempt from the three-month clause.

Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor, Director Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid and Vice President of Elections Commission (EC) Ahmed Fayaz were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

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President Waheed claims 10,000 members for GIP by March 10

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has claimed that his Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) will reach 10,000 members by Sunday (March 10).

Speaking to local media, the president claimed that 9,000 members had signed for the party and that extensive campaigning was being carried out in Male’ to increase GIP’s membership.

Despite the president’s claims, the Elections Commission political registry presently shows that his party has only 4,012 registered members, local media reported.

President Waheed told local media that the push to reach 10,000 members was due to the recently passed political party bill, which states that any party with less than 10,000 members could face dissolution.

“I still don’t believe that this is something they [Parliament] should have done. I believe forming clubs, organisations and political parties is a right enshrined in the constitution. That is a fundamental right,” Waheed was told local newspaper Haveeru.

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DRP overtakes PPM in member numbers

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has become the second largest political party in the Maldives, overtaking Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in membership numbers.

According to local media, the number of members in the DRP now stands at 22,687 – a 64 member lead on the 22,263 members of PPM.

The largest party in the Maldives, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), stood at 47,192 members as of December last year.

However, local media reported that the latest Election Commission (EC) numbers for the MDP show that the party had lost 237 members this month alone.

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s Gaumee Ittihad Party (GIP) gained the most members in February, according to local media, increasing its membership by 372.

Amongst the 16 political parties in the country, Jumhooree Party (JP) currently has the most member registration forms pending in the EC with 2595 waiting to be approved.

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