Tag: elections commission

EC concerned over insufficient funds to hold Majlis election

With parliamentary elections due to be held on March 22, Elections Commission (EC) member Ali Mohamed Manik has stated that the commission’s budget does not currently have sufficient funds to hold an election.

Manik stated that, while an estimated MVR38 million is needed for the parliamentary elections, the commission’s budget has a remainder of MVR9 million after the salaries of staff and allowances for political parties are subtracted from the total value.

“Currently, even the unpaid bills amount to more than MVR9 million,” Manik told local media on Thursday.

“The Finance Ministry is saying that there is money in the budget because they are considering the money put aside for salaries and political party allowances,” Manik explained.

“In that manner, yes, there might be MR30 million. But the fact is that that money is reserved for a particular purpose.”

Manik stated that the commission is facing numerous difficulties because of the budget insufficiency.

“Even now, we are having to send some staff to election trainings without their food allowances. This would affect staff motivation, and in turn affect the work of the commission.”

“We have also been unable to pay some staff who worked in the local council elections. There are also numerous bills from that election which still remain unsettled,” Manik revealed.

He assured, however, that all preparations were continuing to be made for the upcoming parliamentary elections despite the budget difficulties.

The EC informed the Majlis government oversight committee on March 3 of the failure on the part of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury to provide the allocated budget for the election in full to the committee.

The ministry subsequently responded to the committee via letter – stating that the funds had not been released as the commission already has unspent money in its budget.

Concerns over the ability of the commission to fulfill its mandate independently has been voiced both in the Maldives and abroad in recent weeks as the Supreme Court continues with contempt of court proceedings against all four EC members.

After telling the oversight committee that he no longer considered the EC to be an independent institution earlier this week, EC President Fuwad Thowfeek and his colleagues were summoned to the court and reprimanded once again for questioning the court and its rulings.

Shortly after yesterday’s session, the court imposed a travel ban on all four members of the commission.

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Civil Court rejects MP Alhan’s request for injunction suspending candidacy of MDP Feydhoo ticket winner

The Civil Court has ruled today that it does not have the jurisdiction to grant an injunction suspending the candidacy of the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Feydhoo primary winner.

The decision (Dhivehi) came in a lawsuit filed by Feydhoo MP Alhan Fahmy against the MDP seeking annulment of the opposition party’s primary for the Feydhoo constituency in Addu City.

Alhan lost the MDP’s primary to Mohamed Nihad last month by a 162 vote margin and challenged the results on the grounds that the voter list was outdated and did not include 67 new members. He also alleged electoral fraud in the Feydhoo poll.

Alhan had asked the court to order the Elections Commission (EC) to suspend Nihad’s candidacy pending a judgment on the legitimacy of the primary contest.

Judge Ali Naseer however ruled that cases concerning the candidacy of persons standing for parliament was in the jurisdiction of the High Court under the Judicature Act and the General Elections Act.

Lawyers representing the MDP reportedly did not attend this morning’s hearing.

Judge Naseer said that the party will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations of fraud at the next trial date.

At yesterday’s hearing, the party’s legal team raised a procedural issue contending that the court could not hear the case as Alhan had not completed the appeals process through the party’s internal mechanisms.

The judge however dismissed the procedural point and ruled that the court could proceed with the case. He noted that as the MP could no longer submit a complaint to the party’s appeals committee, dismissing the case would deprive Alhan of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

The MDP has since appealed the ruling at the High Court.

While Alhan had first filed his case at the High Court, the court’s registrar informed his lawyers that it could not hear cases involving internal elections conducted by political parties.

Alhan was stabbed in a restaurant in Male’ on February 1 and returned to the Maldives on Friday (March 1) after undergoing treatment in Sri Lanka.

The incumbent MP is contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections as an independent candidate.

Last August, Alhan was summoned by police in connection with the alleged blackmailing of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, using footage of the judge having sex with three prostitutes in a Sri Lankan hotel.

The MP tweeted a screenshot of a text message he claimed had been sent to his mobile phone by Superintendent of Police Mohamed Riyaz. The text read: “Alhan, will make sure you are fully famed (sic) for blackmailing Justice Ali Hameed. You don’t know who we are.’’

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MDP majority will reform Supreme Court and JSC, says Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will change the number of judges in the Supreme Court and strive to bring their thinking closer to that of the people, and closer to justice.

“We can never accept the level of political influence and the ugly money of corruption that has entered most courts of Maldives. We have to reform these courts. Development for the Maldives can only be achieved if the people Maldives are able to get justice and equality.”

Speaking at a parliamentary campaign rally in Thinadhoo, Gaafu Dhaalu atoll, Nasheed said that the judicial watchdog will also be reformed by amending the Judicial Services Commission Act.

He said that the MDP’s priority was judicial reform, and that nothing else could be carried out in the Maldives without such reform.

Nasheed said that society does not accept the offering and taking of bribes by judges or their meddling in political affairs.

“We cannot accept the judiciary’s meddling with the Elections Commission under the parliament’s guardianship. With a Maldivian Democratic Party majority in the 18th People’s Majlis, we will – God willing – reform the judiciary,” he said.

Decentralisation

Nasheed said the MDP was competing in the parliamentary elections with a promise of obtaining the ownership of local resources for locals.

“We have to empower the councils. As long that power is retrained, we won’t be able to achieve the development we want,” Nasheed said.

Stating the central government in Malé could  not achieve development without decentralisation and the empowerment of local councils, Nasheed said that islands are capable of carrying out their development activities by themselves.

“The wealth of our country is widespread and enormous. Our people have even today started accepting that this is not the rightful amount for the people. Our objective is to get for the people their rightful due,” said the former president.

Referring to the ‘southern rebellion’ of 1959, Nasheed said that it was the same rightful due that the people of Thinadhoo and Huvadhoo hoped and protested for in the past.

“Back then most of us saw the people’s protests as acts against the state. By any modern standard they were protests. Excessive force was used to disperse those protests and many people died.”

“We don’t want to see that, but people will stand up if they these powers are not given to them, and they will work to get their powers,” Nasheed said.

A key objective of the MDP in the parliament was to hold the government accountable as an opposition party, he added, reiterating that the MDP would encourage the fulfillment of government pledges in line with the party policies.

During campaigning for his Progressive Party of Maldives last week, President Abdulla Yameen told party supporters that an MDP majority would seek to oust his government from office.

Indeed, following the local council elections in January, Nasheed pledged that his party would take advantage of any legal means to remove Yameen after what it maintains was a fraudulent presidential election last year.

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Supreme Court guidelines undermine EC’s independence: Fuwad Thowfeek

The 16-point guideline for conducting elections imposed by the Supreme Court on the Elections Commission (EC) has undermined the institution’s independence, EC President Fuwad Thowfeek told MPs on the government oversight committee yesterday.

In a meeting with the opposition-majority oversight committee to discuss budget constraints, Thowfeek said he did not believe the EC was fully independent as some of its powers and responsibilities were transferred to other institutions by the Supreme Court judgment that annulled the September 7 presidential poll.

“For example, having to consider the Department of National Registration’s (DNR) list as the basis in preparing voters list and compelling us to use a person from the police service to transport [election-related] material from one place to another,” he said.

Thowfeek also referred to the cancellation of polls in last year’s presidential election after candidates from the Progressive Party of Maldives and Jumhooree Party refused to sign the voters list, which was among the requirements imposed by the apex court.

As the Finance Ministry has not released funds allocated in the state budget for conducting the upcoming parliamentary election, Thowfeek said that financial constraints were also an impediment to the commission’s work.

Lack of financial independence poses difficulties and “restrictions”, he added.

EC members expressed concern at yesterday’s committee meeting over having to make individual requests to the Finance Ministry to pay bills and settle other expenses incurred in preparations for the polls.

Asked by MP Visam Ali if the commission was able to comply with the Public Finance Act and regulations under the law while it was forced to depend on the ministry for expenses, Thowfeek said the EC was being told to disregard provisions of the law.

“I have to say again that the first [institution] to do this was the Supreme Court. As far as I know, the sumoto mechanism they have made to prosecute Elections Commission members is against the constitution of the Maldives,” he said.

The EC did not have “any other option or choice” when the Finance Ministry instructs the commission to disregard the public finance law, Thowfeek said.

If the EC refuses on the grounds that “it’s against the law”, Thowfeek continued, there was a fear that the parliamentary election could not be held as scheduled on March 22.

Contempt of court

On February 12, the Supreme Court summoned EC members and began a surprise trial on charges of contempt of court.

The apex court invoked new ‘Sumoto’ – or ‘Suo motu’ – regulations that allow the court to initiate hearings and act as both prosecutor and judge in a trial.

The court contends that criticism by EC members of its decision to annul the first round of last year’s presidential election – citing a secret police report that has since been dismissed by a UN expert review and questioned by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives – constituted contempt of court.

At the last hearing of the trial, Supreme Court Justices used testimony given to the oversight committee to implicate EC members in contempt of court.

Article 90 of the constitution says no person will be subject to any inquiry, arrest, detention, or prosecution with respect to anything said in the People’s Majlis or any of its committees if such a statement is not contrary to tenet of Islam.

However, Supreme Court Justice Ahmed Abdulla Didi contended that the EC’s testimony at the committee obstructed justice – which he argued was a tenet of Islam – and could therefore be used in a court.

Asked by Committee Chair MP Ali Waheed if commission members were aware of the punishment for contempt for court, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik said he was informed by the commission’s legal team that there was no law specifying a penalty for contempt of court.

“They said there is no punishment. So I’m hoping that we haven’t committed a crime and there won’t be a punishment,” he said.

Manik referred to Article 223 of the constitution, which states that the supervision and prosecution of all criminal offences was the responsibility of the prosecutor general.

“But we didn’t see the prosecutor general there. We answered questions put to us by Supreme Court judges,” he said.

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Elections will go ahead, even without voters list signatures: EC President

The People’s Majlis elections scheduled for 22 March will be held as planned, the Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek has said.

Speaking about the election on Television Maldives’ ‘Raaje Miadhu’ programme, Thowfeek said that he hoped all candidates would sign the lists, but that even if they did not the elections would be held regardless.

“I don’t believe we should bring any change to the election. So it will be held as planned,” he said.

The voter list signatures mandated by the Supreme Court were not obtained during the recent local council elections held in January.

Approval of voter lists by all candidates was mandated by the Supreme Court guidelines in the verdict annulling the first round of the presidential election held in September 2013.

The EC has described these guidelines as “restrictive”while the court have been criticised by the United Nations for “subverting the democratic process” in the Maldives with “onerous” and “difficult to satisfy” guidelines.

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Over 62,000 voters re-registered for parliamentary elections

The Elections Commission (EC) has stated that over 62,000 re-registration forms submitted by voters for the March 22 parliamentary elections in have now been processed and approved.

Re-registration is required for all those wishing to vote in a location other than their official place of residence.

EC Secretary General Asim Abdula Sattar confirmed that the forms of over one quarter of eligible voters have been approved since re-registration commenced on February 18. Local media has, however, reported that the forms processed so far are only those submitted in the capital city Malé.

Quoting a media official from the EC, the report states that re-registration forms submitted in the atolls, as well as to consulates in other countries, are still to be processed.

The EC announced that it would be allowing the amended forms to be submitted between 10am and 4pm on Monday (March 3).

Asim Abdul Sattar stated that the commission was currently in the process of returning rejected forms to the applicants.

“We are aiming to finish returning the rejected forms today itself. We will then review amended forms which are resubmitted tomorrow and accept them if it meets all requirements,” Asim stated.

He said that forms which were submitted and then rejected for any reason whatsoever can be resubmitted with the required amendments. However, forms cannot be submitted anew if it the original form was handed in within the initial time frame.

The commission stated that diplomatic offices in countries where ballot boxes will be placed will also accept amended re-registration forms on Monday.

The EC has previously revealed that there are over 240,000 eligible voters for the upcoming elections – the second since the country’s transition to multi-party democracy in 2008. A total of 302 candidates are contesting for 85 parliamentary seats.

The commission revealed last week that, despite new financial restrictions at the Ministry of Finance, it anticipated the March 22 poll would go ahead as scheduled.

Concern has been raised both internationally and at home over the EC’s independence as the Supreme Court pursues contempt of court and disobedience to order charges against the four commission members.

Commission members attended the court yesterday to sign statements relating to the previous hearing (February 17), explained EC Director General Mohamed Shakeel. The last hearing – the second since the charges were announced and proceedings begun within one day – saw the bench rule as admissible testimony normally protected under parliamentary privilege.

No date has been set for subsequent hearings, said Shakeel.

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Finance Ministry restrictions will not obstruct Majlis polls, says EC

The Elections Commission (EC) has said that recent financial restrictions in acquiring the election budget will not have any impact on the upcoming parliamentary elections.

In all elections following the cancelled first round of last year’s presidential elections, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury have not released in bulk the total budget required for each election.

The ministry has instead been required to pays bills and release funds for individual requests after having reviewed if the expenditure fits the criteria of the programme.

Following yesterday’s second EC advisory committee meeting in preparations for the March vote, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the commission owed MVR12 million in pending bills after delays at the Finance Ministry.

A ministry official explained to Minivan News that, if the ministry is convinced the money is required for elections, there will not be any restrictions in releasing the funds. Though the decision was made at policy level, he acknowledged that  it might have been due to budget shortages.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek has said that, even with these difficulties, the commission is able to mange the expenditures with cooperation from the ministry.

“We are managing. I can assure that these restrictions will not obstruct the election. It will be carried out as planned,” said Thowfeek.
Fuwad was also of the view that the restrictions could be the result of budget shortage.

“Now we are using the office budget mostly. But the Finance Ministry is releasing funds as we spend,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the parliament’s government accountability committee is planning to question the finance ministry regarding the issue. A committee member confirmed today that a request has been made.

The EC is currently on trial at the Supreme Court on contempt charges. After using newly introduced procedures to both initiate and oversee contempt of court charges against the EC, the court has subsequently deemed privileged Majlis testimony to be admissible in the case.

The EU, the Maldivian Democratic Party, and local civil society groups have all expressed concern over the case’s effect of the EC’s independence ahead of the March 22 Majlis elections.

The commission members have now been asked to attend the Supreme Court this Saturday (March 1) at 1:30pm to sign their statements.

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Nasheed warns Supreme Court against interference in Majlis elections

Former President Mohamed Nasheed warned Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain last night against Supreme Court interference in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22.

Speaking at a campaign launching ceremony for two Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidates, Nasheed said last year’s presidential election was “taken away from us by the Supreme Court.”

“The island council, atoll council, and city council elections have slipped from their fingers by God’s will while they were unaware. Now we are coming to the People’s Majlis elections again. If the People’s Majlis election is stopped, you could not place a bigger obstacle to the country’s development,” he said.

Supreme Court Justices “should know very well that the people of the Maldives will not forgive,” Nasheed said.

“And do not think that the courage of the Maldivian people has flagged. No, when they have to take to the streets, they will,” he said.

“If you decide to halt our elections, remember that we live on this land too. Keep in my mind, our Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz, know that we too grew up in this island. As long as we are on this soil, you cannot keep perpetrating injustices against our people.”

The Maldivian people were not indifferent or willing to “remain in a state of shock or fear,” Nasheed continued, adding that the people have “found courage from one another and moved past their fear”.

“We cannot remain still, we cannot give up the hope of our children and children’s children, we cannot give up the Maldives,” he said.

Suo motu

The Supreme Court summoned members of the Elections Commission (EC) on February 12 and began a surprise trial on charges of contempt of court. The apex court invoked new ‘Sumoto’ or ‘Suo motu’ regulations that allow the court to initiate hearings and act as both prosecutor and judge in a trial.

The court contends that criticism by EC members of its decision to annul the first round of last year’s presidential election – citing a secret police report that has since been dismissed by a UN expert review and questioned by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives – constituted contempt of court.

Nasheed meanwhile declared last week that the MDP will boycott the parliamentary elections if the Supreme Court removes EC members ahead of next month’s polls.

Speaking at a campaign event on the night before EC members were summoned, Nasheed accused parties in the ruling coalition of colluding with the Supreme Court to delay the Majlis elections as they were “certain of defeat.”

“In my view, an election conducted with the Supreme Court exerting influence over the Elections Commission to deliberately commit electoral fraud or rig the vote will not be a legitimate election – in my view, MDP should not participate in such an election,” Nasheed said.

Neither the international community nor the Maldivian public would accept general elections boycotted by the MDP, he insisted.

In his speech at a campaign launching ceremony on Monday night for MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, Nasheed said judicial reform was the most pressing issue facing the Maldives at present.

Neither the chief justice nor other judges should think that the public would cease calls for reform or stop criticising the judiciary “out of fear,” he said, declaring that the party would “not back down in the slightest”.

Referring to the alleged sex tape of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, Nasheed said the party’s concern was not with Hameed’s indiscretions but with the presence of “compromised” judges on the bench who were susceptible to “blackmail”.

While the new constitution was adopted to move away from the autocratic and unjust practices of the past, the Supreme Court has taken on powers to investigate, prosecute, conduct trial, and deliver verdicts on their own accord, Nasheed said.

“The fundamental basis of the reform that the Maldivian people wanted was ensuring that the prosecutor and the court that hears the case are separate. Persons must have the assistance of a lawyer to defend themselves from accusation of a crime,” he said.

“It is the prosecutor general who should prosecute on behalf of the state. We wanted to see separated powers of state [but] today we are seeing the Supreme Court negate the character of the constitution we wished for.”

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Civil society joins criticism of Supreme Court’s actions against EC

Read this article in Dhivehi

Civil society groups in the Maldives have added their voices to the growing concern over the Supreme Court’s actions against the Elections Commission (EC).

“The Maldivian Democracy Network and the Maldives NGO Federation are gravely concerned by the recent proceedings initiated by the Supreme Court of the Maldives against the members of the Elections Commission of the Maldives,” read a joint press release today.

After using newly introduced procedures to both initiate and oversee contempt of court charges against the EC, the court has subsequently deemed privileged Majlis testimony to be admissible in the case.

Today’s statement closely follows that of the EU’s Sri Lanka delegation which yesterday called upon the government to ensure the commission’s independence ahead of the March 22 Majlis elections.

Recalling the recent controversies surrounding the 2013 presidential election, the NGO statement argued these events had come at a “great cost to the state and the people”.

“We strongly urge all parties to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections are efficient, independent and fair. Any hindrance by any party to this process would be undemocratic and unfair for the people of the Maldives.”

The court’s decision to bring the charges of contempt of court refer to criticism of the decision to annul last September’s presidential election first round. The annulment was followed by further cancelled and delayed polls after much wrangling over the court’s new election guidelines.

The EC has also been accused of disobeying a Supreme Court order by dissolving eight political parties earlier this month.

The NGO statement has today referred to the 16 point guidelines as “onerous” and “controversial”.

Supreme Court must earn respect, say NGOs

Describing the current court case as “unjust”, runner-up in the presidential poll Mohamed Nasheed has said that his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will not compete next month’s vote should the four EC members be removed.

Following today’s second EC advisory committee meeting in preparations for the March vote, MDP Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the commission owed MVR12 million in pending bills after delays at the Finance Ministry.

Hamid reported, however, that the EC was confident the elections would proceed as scheduled.

The civil society statement noted that the decision to use testimony protected under the constitution had overstepped the court’s boundaries as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution.

Claiming establishing justice to be a tenet of Islam, Supreme Court Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi has said the EC’s testimony at the independent commissions oversight committee obstructed justice and could be used in a court.

The court has said that no party has the authority to question or criticise its decisions as per Article 145 (c) of the constitution.

“The Elections Commission has been established in very clear terms by the Constitution of the Maldives as an independent institution with its oversight assigned to the people through their representatives in the People’s Majlis,” read today’s NGO press release.

“Writing this criteria in the Constitution cannot bring independence to an institution if it cannot be practiced and fully respected. Similarly, respect for an institution is not inherent to being a part of the Constitution. The Supreme Court must, as every other institution, earn the respect of the people.”

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