Tag: EC

Local councils elections “unfair and one sided”, claims MDP

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Deputy Secretary General Mohamed Imthiyaz has said in a statement that the Local Council Elections were not conducted fairly, and accused the Elections Commission giving more power to a ”specific political party.”

Imthiyaz said that MDP’s complaint bureau had received “more than 1000 complaints” regarding the elections from different areas, which could potentially affect the result of the elections.

”MDP has requested the Elections Commission re-conduct elections in some councils and to recount the votes in some others,” said Imthiyaz.

MDP said it had received information that an under-aged boy had voted in the local council elections and that house that should have been registered in Galolhu South was registered in Mid-Galolhu area.

”And in some vote papers, names of candidates who were dismissed were included, and when people have ticked near the dismissed candidate’s name the vote has been considered void,” said the MDP.

”The irresponsible and unfair actions of the Elections Commission had caused issues that could alter the result of Haa Alifu Atoll Kela, Raa Atoll Ungoofaaru, Noonu Atoll Miladhoo, Manadhoo, Laamu Atoll Gan and Maabidhoo.”

MDP has also said that because the Elections Commission has not yet revealed the preliminary result of some areas, it could cause further confusion.

President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeg and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

The Maldivian Democracy Network declined to comment on the statement.

The Maldivian Democratic Party earlier released a statement claiming it had calculated the popular vote in the local council elections as 44% MDP, 40% DRP, based on current available data.

The popular vote reflects the overall political preference of voters, and has not yet been released by the Elections Commission (EC). The MDP said it produced the figures based on data currently published by the EC on its website.

Both parties declared victory and were celebrating this week after the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) won a decisive seat majority in the local council elections, while the MDP won control of major population hubs.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

No delay for Addu City Council elections, says Elections Commission

The Elections Commission has announced that it has decided to hold Addu City Council elections on February 5 along with the Local Council Elections for all other islands, after expressing concern last week that the Civil Court’s overturning of the President’s declaration would have delayed it by two weeks.

President Nasheed last week declared Addu a city for the second time, after the Civil Court ruled in favour of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) that his first declaration was invalid due to a procedural issue.

The court ruled that the Local Government Authority (LGA) – currently consisting solely of Home Minister Hassan Afeef – had not determined the criteria for a city. The LGA published the criteria in the government gazette and the President declared Addu a city for the second time, however the EC warned last week that this obliged it to repeat the voter registration procedure for Addu.

“The Commission has decided to go ahead with the elections [for Addu] because the President announced that he competed the incomplete procedure on January 10,’’ said the Commission. “According to the law, the the City Council elections can be held in Addu.’’

The Civil Court case was originally filed by Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) deputy leader Imad Solih, sparking hundreds of Adduans and activists to protest outside the home of DQP leader Dr Hassan Saeed – himself a prominent Adduan.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

EC warns of potential two month delay for local council elections in Addu, pending court battle

President of the Elections Commission (EC) Fuad Thaufeeq has said that local council elections in Addu could be delayed by up to two months, with the EC forced to conduct voter registration again after President Mohamed Nasheed declared the atoll a city for the second time yesterday.

The Civil Court ruled on Sunday in favour of the minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP), that the President had no authority to do declare Addu a city until it met the then-unstated requirements for a city, as determined by the Local Government Authority.

Yesterday the authority – currently consisting solely of the Home Minister – published the requirements in the government gazette, and the President declared Addu a city for the second time, after Adduans and MDP activists took to the streets to protest against the Civil Court’s decision and the DQP.

“The Local Government Authority consists of only one person, which is Hassan Afeef, and today I asked Afeef to determine whether Addu Atoll meets the requirements to be a City,’’ President Nasheed said, addressing a rally at Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

However overcoming the technicality raised in the Civil Court was not so simple, warned Thaufeeq.

“When the Civil Court ruled that the first declaration of the Presdient was invalid, it also invalidates all the work done by the commission to hold the Local Council Election,’’ said Thaufeeq.

“Now we will have to register all the citizens of Addu, will have to announce for the elections, will have to elect candidates and will have to give them time for campaign. The commission will have to repeat the whole process for the Local Council Elections in Addu.

“There would be a delay of almost two months [in Addu], while all the other atolls will have concluded the elections and have elected councilors,’’ he explained. “The best way is to hold the elections across all the islands at the same time, by overturning the Civil Court’s ruling.’’

He said the EC was seeking legal advice and trying to determine a way to resolve the issue.

“We have not decided what we will do yet, but these are the issues that will arise if the second declaration is be implemented,’’ he added.

Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad has already said the government will seek to appeal in the High Court, but with the elections scheduled for February 5, a delay could be possible.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

DRP requests EC to remove Umar Naseer from party membership list

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has requested that the Elections Commission remove the name of Umar Naseer, its former Deputy Leader, from the party’s membership list.

The calls follow an escalating war of words between Naseer and the party’s current leader, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, over the former deputy’s dismissal from the DRP late last year that more recently led to violent clashes at a meeting held at DRP headquarters.

Acknowledging the DRP’s request, Elections Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq said that Naseer has also sent a letter to the commission in an attempt to counter the calls to remove him.

“The commission is now considering the matter and will go for a conclusion today or sometime tomorrow,” said Thaufeeq.  “Most of the time, these matters end up in the party’s favour.”

However, as the case has not yet reached a conclusion, Thaufeeq said the commission could not say anything on the case.

Umar Naseer was dismissed from his post by the party’s disciplinary committee back in December after he attempted to conduct a protest that was allegedly unauthorized by DRP leadership.

Naseer said in September that Thasmeen did not want him in the DRP. The former deputy leader alleged that Thasmeen was therefore attempting to dismiss him after the DRP council voted narrowly to move ahead with a disciplinary hearing.

Tensions have risen within the party between supporters loyal to both Thasmeen and Naseer, leading to some MPs including the dismissed deputy to fly out to Malaysia to meet with former president and DRP “honorary leader” Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom returned to the Maldives last week in order to try and reinstate unity in the DRP along with assisting its local council elections campaign.

Gayoom described the disputes in the DRP as ‘disputes’ rather than the formation of faction.

So far, Naseer has not accepted the decision of the disciplinary committee, claiming that the decision was against the party’s charter.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Legal confusion over local council elections

The government claims to be seeking legal advice concerning issues relating to the local council elections scheduled for October.

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said there were contradictory definitions mentioned in the decentralisation and local council acts.

For instance, Hulhudhoo and Meedhu in Addu Atoll are considered two different islands and have their own island offices, but both are located on the same land mass.  Under the decentralisation act,  two islands on the same land or in the same lagoon would be considered one island, Zuhair explained.

“But in the local council elections act island offices are [allocated] for every island. As a result, it is now difficult to determine on which islands councils should be established,’’ he said.

Zuhair said the Elections Commission [EC] would try to hold elections on time, regardless to the issues raised.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said DRP has already presented a bill to the parliament to resolve the issue.

”We will amend the law to provide power to the citizens, and we might as well amend the constitution if necessary,” said Mausoom. ”In the bill it will determine how the local councils should be established in the controversial islands of Addu Atoll and Fuvamulah.”

In May, the parliament passed legislation on local council elections. The bill was initially passed in such a way that any person who lived out of their birthplace was required to travel to their home island.

Article 4 of the first legislation passed said voters would have to be present in their island of birth or registered constituency in order to cast their ballots.

President Mohamed Nasheed vetoed the bill, claiming a large number of people from the atolls living in Male’ or “40 per cent of the population”, would be deprived of the right to vote if he ratified the bill.

President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MPs with ‘decreed’ debt face disqualification from parliament

An article of the constitution stating that members of parliament with unpaid debts face immediate disqualification from the Majlis stands to be tested in the Supreme Court, after a spate of cross-party accusations on the subject.

Article 73 [c]of the constitution states, “A person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”

Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer has filed a case at the Supreme Court claiming that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Thimarafushi Mohamed Mustafa has an unpaid debt dating back to 1997 and should therefore be unseated.

However the MP has said there was “no doubt” of his eligibility for remaining an MP, dismissing the case filed against him. The Supreme Court has concluded its hearings on the case but has yet to deliver a verdict.

Umar argued that MP Mustafa should not have been eligible to be a candidate in last year’s parliamentary elections ”because he had a proven debt which was not paid.”’

“He has to pay US$31,231.66 (Rf401,326.83) to Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which is now bankrupted and its loans and debts have been taken over by the Maldives Monitary Authority (MMA),” Umar said.

Umar said that on 28 August 1997, the civil court ruled that the debt should be payed by MP Mustafa and his company Seafood International Private Limited.

”We raised the issue at the Elections Commission (EC) during the parliamentary elections and the former president of EC said that there was no debt which should be paid by Mustafa,” he said.”That’s why I took it to the Supreme Court.”

But, Mustafa claimed he inquired with the MMA about the outstanding debts.

‘The MMA said that there was no debt that I should pay,” Mustafa said, ”That’s why I ran in the parliamentary elections.”

Mustafa added that the Elections Commission (EC) also investigated the case and ruled that he was eligible.

‘They are trying to defame my character,” he said. ”Umar Naseer is a politically insane person.”

Last month, the Male’ municipality asked the attorney general to file a suit against Mustafa to recover unpaid rent for a plot he leased for a restaurant in artificial beach.

MP Mustafa is one of several MPs who have been variously accused of having outstanding unpaid debts.

Namira Engineering was sentenced last week to pay Rf116,497 to the State Trading Organisation (STO). People’s Alliance MP and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, who was former managing director of Namira Engineering before he resigned from the company, said he had left it three years ago and has no connection with the debt.

On 8 January, a criminal case involving Nazim, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem and former Atolls Minister Abdullah Hameed, was sent to Prosecutor General’s Office.

On 31st of January, Peoples Alliance party leader Yameen Abdul Gayoom sued the DRP leader-elect Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to recover an unpaid debt.

On 8 December 2009, Sultans of the Sea, a company affiliated with DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, was ordered to pay Rf654 million to Bank of Maldives.

The BML audit report released last year revealed that US$633 million worth of loans was issued on 2008. Of the US$633 million, US$45 million was granted to Sultans of the Seas and US$36 million to Fonnadhoo Tuna Products.

MP Thasmeen did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MDP regains membership majority

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is once again the political party with most members in the country, reports Miadhu.

Last Tuesday, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) had claimed membership majority with a total of 32,539.

According to Miadhu, the Elections Commission (EC) said MDP reached 33,270 members and had an additional 3,500 forms waiting for verification.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)