A 45-year-old man was arrested from Villimalé on suspicion of sexually abusing his one-year-old daughter and raping his step children of 11 and 12 years of age.
The criminal court has extended his arrest for 10 days as the police Family and Child Protection Department investigates the case.
(0)Dislikes
(0)President Abdulla Yameen yesterday announced that his Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) will forward its own candidate for the position of speaker of the People’s Majlis.
The move follows Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim’s claim earlier this week that he had the full backing of his coalition partners to stand for nomination to the chair.
Parliament should be an institution that “sincerely and responsibly” fulfils the duty bestowed by the public, Yameen told supporters yesterday.
“For this reason, our party wants the speaker’s post in the next People’s Majlis,” he said during a rally held last night to celebrate the Progressive Coalition’s garnering of a 53 seat majority in Saturday’s Majlis elections.
Notably absent from the event were leaders of the JP – the winner of 15 of the coalition’s seats – with party Secretary General Dr Mohamed Saud telling CNM that the party had not attended as it had not been made aware of the agenda.
Complaints from within the JP immediately after polling, regarding PPM-affiliated candidates having stood as independents in constituencies reserved for the JP, appeared to have been justified today as local media reported that two of the five successful independent candidates had signed for the ruling party.
Following his loss to an independent candidate last weekend, JP MP for Lhaviyani Naifaru, Ahmed Mohamed, accused the PPM of attempting to “destroy” its coalition partner.
Differences of opinion among coalition partners should be settled through dialogue, President Yameen said during yesterday’s rally, suggesting that the coalition had lost 15 seats as a result of members of coalition parties contesting as independents.
“This wasn’t the fault of the people. It was a mistake made by our parties,” he said, noting that coalition leaders had “repeatedly urged” party members to vote for the coalition’s official candidate.
Senior members of the JP, including Secretary General Dr Saud and Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim, told Minivan News today that they were unwilling to comment on political issues on behalf of the party.
The addition of two members would bring the PPM’s parliamentary group for the 18th Majlis – scheduled to hold its first session in late May/early June – to 35 of the chamber’s 85 seats.
The third coalition partner – the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), which is more closely allied with the PPM – took five seats on Saturday.
Local media yesterday, however, reported Ahmed Mahloof as saying that both he and fellow re-elected PPM MP Ahmed Nihan had pledged to support Gasim’s candidacy for speaker while negotiating during the 2013 presidential election.
Mahloof suggested that the nomination of a PPM candidate would be likely to cause a rift within the Progressive Coalition, and would be a decision he would find difficult to support.
Neither Mahloof nor Nihan were responding to calls at the time of press. PPM leaders have told local media that no official coalition discussion on nominations to the speaker’s chair have been held.
Adding further uncertainty to Gasim’s attempts to become speaker, reports published in the Gasim-owned Vnews media outlet today that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – winner of 26 seats – had decided to support Gasim’s nomination to the chair have been denied.
“He’s capable, but there are many others in the parliament who are capable, we have not yet decided,” MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih told Minivan News.
The election of the new speaker – a position currently held by the MDP’s Abdulla Shahid – is scheduled to take place through a secret ballot of MPs at the first sitting of the new session.
Majlis regulations note that the speaker “shall be the highest authority of the People’s Majlis responsible for the conduction of all matters pertaining to the People’s Majlis including the administration, the sittings and the committees of the People’s Majlis in accordance with the Constitution and the Regulations.”
The speaker is also charges with preserving “order and decorum” within the Majlis, as well as observance of the institution’s regulations.
(1)Dislikes(0)Voters said yes to peace and stability in Saturday’s parliamentary elections and rejected an ideology that was ruining the country, President Abdulla Yameen said at a rally held in Malé last night to celebrate the Progressive Coalition’s victory at the polls.
Voters said no to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) ideology because the country did not have the “energy to bear the wounds any further,” he said.
Voters also rejected foreign interference in Maldivian domestic affairs, Yameen added.
The Maldivian people supported the government’s efforts to develop the nation and fulfil campaign pledges, he continued, and endorsed plans to “take Maldivian youth out of the crime environment, offer a second chance to persons serving sentences, and bring them back to society for rehabilitation.”
The Progressive Coalition will hold celebration rallies across the country in the coming days, Yameen said, including one in Thinadhoo tomorrow night.
In surprising victories, coalition candidates took both parliamentary seats in the MDP’s traditional stronghold in the south.
The rallies will be attended by PPM leader and former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, along with coalition leaders Ahmed Siyam Mohamed and Gasim Ibrahim, Yameen said.
“Good news” will be revealed at the Thinadhoo rally, he said, adding that the PPM’s “list of pledges” was not yet complete.
Continue progress brought by “golden 30 years”
The policies in the PPM manifesto were formulated to transform the “landscape of the Maldives,” he reiterated, stressing that the policies were not limited to raising old age benefits, empowering women, or prioritising Quran and Islamic education.
The PPM-led coalition government’s policies would benefit fishermen, young entrepreneurs, and “people of all ages”, he said.
The main priority of his administration was “putting the economy back on track,” President Yameen said, adding that the public was already seeing signs of the economy rebounding.
Foreign investors were interested in coming to the Maldives because of the current political stability, he said.
“We want to change the Maldives to a modern nation from where President Maumoon’s golden 30 years brought us,” he said.
Acknowledging public discontent over the quality of healthcare, Yameen said fixing problems in the sector was a high priority, noting that there were two or three doctors per 10,000 people in most developed countries.
“With God’s blessing, the Maldives even today is in a position where we have to rejoice. Today there are 1.6 doctors per 1,000 people in the Maldives,” he said.
The foundation for the progress the Maldives has made was laid by President Gayoom, he said.
Separation of powers
Yameen also expressed gratitude to the leadership of the MDP for the prevailing stable political environment.
The opposition party has meanwhile released a press statement expressing “deep concerns” with the electoral environment ahead of polling day on March 22.
“The MDP believes the processes of elections from a quantitative point of view were efficient and well managed. However, continued judicial interference in the electoral process affected the independence of the elections commission, and created an atmosphere not conducive towards holding a free and fair election,” the statement read.
The Supreme Court’s removal of the Elections Commission (EC) chair and deputy chair in proceedings where the apex court was “judge, plaintiff and the jury” was an attempt to “intimidate state actors and voters,” the party contended.
The dismissals of the EC members two weeks before the elections “affected people’s confidence in the election and resulted in lower voter turnout,” the statement read.
The party called on the international community to maintain “robust engagement” with the government to “ensure Maldives does not backtrack on hard-won freedoms and reforms” since the adoption of a democratic constitution in August 2008.
Concerns over the Supreme Court’s negative impact on the electoral environment have also been expressed by EU and Commonwealth observer teams this week.
“The 7 Feb 2012 coup d’état, legitimised by the CoNI report, ushered in a period of authoritarian rule which continues to this day,” former President Mohamed Nasheed was quoted as saying in the MDP statement.
“We have a situation in which the Supreme Court now feels empowered to sentence the Elections Commission on politically motivated charges only a week before polling day,” he said.
“The Maldives no longer has an effective separation of powers and forces close to the former dictatorship now control all three branches of the state.”
(0)Dislikes(0)In a letter addressed to the minister of environment and energy, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said that said unsafe dredging in Meedhoo, Dhaalu atoll, will have great health risks for the local population.
The Meedhoo land reclamation project was halted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to take measures to minimise the environmental impact of the work as per regulations.
The HPA launched an investigation to identify the health impact of the project after having received complaints.
HPA’s letter – a copy of which was obtained by Minivan News today – noted that there is a high chance that the continuation of the project as it is would have a negative health impact in the long run.
According to the letter, the agency’s investigations indicated that it is highly likely to cause lung and respiratory diseases.
“Therefore we request to find another way of carrying out the work, and to encourage working in a way that would not have any negative impact on human beings,” read the letter.
Using the rainbowing technique – the propulsion of materials through the air in a high arc – rather than using pipelines to take the the sand closer to the land, has left a large part of the island’s shoreline vegetation and many houses near the beach covered in fine sand and sea water.
Environmental NGO Ecocare earlier said that the project’s environmental implications are “frightening” and both public and private property are at risk.
“While layers of sedimentation found on some rooftops were 2-3 inches thick, large trees on the shoreline and inland had also effected loosing its leaves, and are now drying and dying,” the organisation said in a statement issued yesterday.
Meedhoo Council President Ahmed Aslam confirmed that rainbowing has affected destroyed the vegetation on the island and caused some damage to property as well.
“It is true, rainbowing has caused some damages to the island. Soil and seawater was sprayed all over the place. And as this is a small island, it was all over the houses near the beach and had damaged the vegetation all over the island,” Aslam explained.
He said that when the council took the issue to the Housing Ministry, they requested they communicate with Boskalis International – the company contracted to carry out the work – to ensure mitigation measures are taken properly.
Aslam however denied media reports that the dredging vessel had left the island due to the environmental issues.
“We communicated directly with Boskalis people. They confirmed that the vessel was leaving the island to repair a pump. They are bringing in mechanic from abroad. We expect the work to resume within four days,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Housing Dr Mohamed Muiz told Haveeru that the EPA had acted without discussing the issue with the ministry and that there were political reasons in the EPA’s suspension of the operation.
“The issue of EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] came up while some political people were trying to stop the work, because we are speeding up a work which they were unable to do during MDP’s three years in government,“ Muiz was quoted as saying in Haveeru.
While the EPA is a legal regulatory authority, the agency it not independent and functions under the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
Muiz confirmed to Haveeru that the work was halted due to violation of EIA conditions and said Boskalis International had now been asked to suspend operations and to continue work after resolving the issues.
(2)Dislikes(0)The Adhaalath Party has today said that it lost many seats it ought to have won in the Majlis elections due to bribery and undue influence from competing candidates.
“We saw it both from the ruling party and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) but we really did not want to buy votes – instead we tried to change the way people think,’’ party Spokesperson Ali Zahir told Minivan News.
After fielding 12 candidates in Saturday’s polls, the religious party saw just a single MP elected to the 18th People’s Majlis – Anara Naeem for Makunudhoo constituency in Haa Dhaal atoll.
“It was really sad that a lot of money transactions were involved in it, it was an obstacle to electing the most capable person to the parliament.’’
Senior members of the MDP have themselves noted the use of similar techniques in Saturday’s poll – pointing the finger at coalition parties – while civil society and international observers have expressed alarm at such practices.
“It wasn’t the best results, or the results we expected,’’ Zahir told Minivan News today. “There are many reasons behind the loss.’’
Zahir said that one of the many reasons was the decision by the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) to give party tickets to candidates to contest in constituencies that Adhaalath had taken.
“It made the people divide their votes which the coalition should have got,’’ he said.
He said that the party had not started discussion on the issue with its, unofficial, coalition partners.
Following Adhaalath’s exclusion from the coalition’s parliamentary election plans, PPM Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla told the press that the party was not “an official partner of the Progressive Coalition.”
Adhaalath was excluded from the governing coalition’s seat allocation, which eventually allocated 30 seats to the PPM, seven to the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and 28 to the Jumhooree Party (JP).
After failed negotiations with the JP in February, JP leader Gasim Ibrahim slammed the Adhaalath Party’s decision to contest in JP-reserved constituencies.
“Their actions are not in the general interest, in the name of Adhaalath (justice) they are doing everything in the wrong way,” said Gasim. “We gave them four seats. They did not accept it.”
Both Gasim and President Abulla Yameen have admitted that vote-splitting detracted from the size of the Progressive Coalition’s margin of victory.
Zahir today said that the workload of the senior party members had prevented the further discussion of the result within the party’s ranks, noting that talks with the government may follow such analysis.
He said that the party believed it had still made progress compared to the 2009 elections result – in which the party won no seats.
“Adhaalath Party is very different from all the other parties that contested in the parliament election – Adhaalath Party is a party that had to start from the bottom,” said Zahir.
“We will not stop our political activities and be silent,’’ he said. “We will compete in all the future elections and work to get better results.’’
(1)Dislikes(0)The government has submitted amendments to the Decentralisation Act to make councillors part-time with the exception of the president and vice president of island, atoll, and city councils.
If the proposed changes are passed into law, councillors other than the president and vice president would not be involved in day-to-day activities after a president and vice president are elected through secret ballot.
While the president and vice president would be paid a monthly salary, other councillors are to be paid an allowance for attending council meetings – a move that would lead to substantial savings from the public sector wage bill.
The responsibilities of other councillors would be to “attend meetings of the council, participate in the council’s decision-making [process], and assist the council in ways determined by the council in achieving its objectives,” read the amendment.
The amendment bill (Dhivehi) was submitted on behalf of the administration of President Abdulla Yameen by outgoing Progressive Party of Maldives MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakur.
The purpose of the bill is to strengthen decentralised administration in line with the unitary nature of the Maldivian state, stated the introduction of the legislation.
In January, the Local Government Authority (LGA) – the institution tasked with monitoring councils and coordinating with the central government – revealed that recommendations had been shared with parliament to make most councillors part-time.
Recurrent expenditure
Defence Minister and LGA Chair Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim told the press that the changes would allow professionals to contest the council elections, as their responsibilities would be offering advice and participating in decision-making.
“The president and vice president will operate the council. Instead, now they have to leave their profession – the teacher, headmaster or boat builder has to give up his job,” he explained.
As a consequence, Nazim contended, the councillors’ time was not put to productive use.
“The benefit of [the changes] is that the councillor has to work a very short amount of time and be free to work productively for the island’s development,” he added.
The presidents of island councils currently receive a monthly salary and allowance of MVR15,000 (US$973) while council members receive MVR11,000 (US$713). The mayor of Malé is paid MVR45,000 (US$2,918) a month.
Under article 25 of the Decentralisation Act, a five-member council is elected in islands with a population of less than 3,000, a seven-member council for islands with a population between 3,000 and 10,000, and a nine-member council for islands with a population of more than 10,000.
City councils comprise of “an elected member from every electoral constituency of the city”, and atoll councils comprises of “elected members from the electoral constituencies within the administrative division.”
In December, the World Bank warned in a report that the Maldivian economy was at risk due to excessive government spending.
The current model of more than 1,000 elected councillors approved in 2010 by the then-opposition majority parliament was branded “economic sabotage” by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, which had proposed limiting the number of councillors to “no more than 220.”
The new layer of government introduced with the first local council elections in February 2011 cost the state US$12 million a year with a wage bill of US$220,000 a month.
Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told parliament’s Budget Review Committee last year that President Yameen favoured revising the local government framework to reduce the number of island and atoll councillors.
In November 2013, the incoming administration proposed merging island and atoll councils, with the latter to be composed of a representative from each island of the atoll.
President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz said at the time that “the president’s thinking is not to cut down on the number of councillors. But to elect councillors based on the population of the islands. This is a move to curb state expenditure.”
However, parliament did not move to amend the Decentralisation Act ahead of the local council elections on January 18, which saw 1,100 councillors elected for a three-year term.
While the proposals were intended to reduce the state’s recurrent expenditure – which accounts for over 70 percent of the budget – Nazim said the LGA does not support changing the council’s term from three to five years.
Contending that the legal responsibility of local councils was implementing the government’s policies, Nazim said voters should have the opportunity to change their elected representatives during an ongoing five-year presidential term.
“Citizens get an opportunity to see what kind of results the council produced and the extent to which they upheld the government’s policies,” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)The following is a list of MPs-elect to the 18th People’s Majlis based on preliminary results announced by the Elections Commission along with their win percentages.
The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) won 33 seats, and its coalition partners the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), 15 and 5 seats respectively.
Independent candidates took five constituencies and the Adhaalath Party just a single constituency for the 18th Majlis.
HAA ALIF ATOLL
Hoarafushi – Mohamed Ismail (MDA) 50.76%
Ihavandhoo – Mohamed Abdulla (JP) 47.67%
Kelaa – Ali Arif* (PPM) 56.73%
Baarah – Ibrahim Shuja (PPM) 61.37%
Dhidhoo – Abdul Latheef Mohamed (IND) 40.03%
HAA DHAAL ATOLL
Nolhivaram – Hussain Areef (JP) 28.52%
Vaikaradhoo – Mohamed Nazim (MDP) 36.41%
Kulhudhufushi North – Abdul Gafoor Moosa* (MDP) 46.46%
Kulhudhufushi South – Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed* (PPM) 40.89%
Makunudhoo – Anara Naeem (Adhaalath) 45.80%
Hanimadhoo – Hussain Shahudhy (JP) 38.04%
SHAVIYANI ATOLL
Kanditheemu – Mohamed Hussain* (JP) 53.15%
Milandhoo – Hassan Mufeed Abdul Gadhir (JP) 48.07%
Komandoo – Ahmed Nashid (MDP) 47.50%
Funadhoo – Ali Saleem* (PPM) 39.71%
NOONU ATOLL
Kendhikolhudhoo – Ali Mauroof (MDA) 54.39%
Manadhoo – Umar Hussain (MDA) 50.30%
Velidhoo – Abdulla Yameen (MDP) 43.63%
Holhudhoo – Ali Mohamed* (MDP) 36.29%
RAA ATOLL
Alifushi – Mohamed Rasheed Hussain ‘Bigey’ (MDP) 50.68%
Ungoofaru – Jaufar Daud (PPM) 41.99%
Dhuvaafaru – Mohamed Ali (PPM) 37.82%
Inguraidhoo – Ibrahim Falah (PPM) 35.67%
Madduvari – Mohamed Ameeth Ahmed Manik (PPM) 51.67%
BAA ATOLL
Thulhaadhoo – Nazim Rashad* (MDP) 49.78%
Eydhafushi – Ahmed Saleem* (PPM) 52.66%
Kendhoo – Ali Hussain (JP) 51.63%
LHAVIYANI ATOLL
Hinnavaru – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (MDP) 52.65%
Naifaru – Ahmed Shiyam (IND) 34.49%
Kurendhoo – Abdul Bari Abdulla (MDP) 45.92%
KAAFU ATOLL
Kaashidhoo – Faisal Naseem (JP) 50.12%
Thulusdhoo – Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim (PPM) 57.74%
Guraidhoo – Ibrahim Riza* (PPM) 52.84%
ALIF ALIF ATOLL
Mathiveri – Hussain Mohamed* (JP) 51.26%
Thohdoo – Ibrahim Hassan (JP) 51.62%
ALIF DHAAL
Maamigili – Gasim Ibrahim* (JP) 82%
Mahibadhoo – Ahmed Thoriq (IND) 35.76%
Dhagethi – Ilham Ahmed* (JP) 63.75%
VAAVU ATOLL
Felidhoo – Ahmed Marzooq (MDP) 50.43%
Keyodhoo – Moosa Nizar Ibraim (JP) 54.91%
MEEMU ATOLL
Dhiggaru – Ahmed Nazim* (PPM) 60.22%
Mulaku – Ibrahim Naseer (MDP) 45.01%
FAAFU ATOLL
Bileydhoo – Ahmed Mubeen (JP) 50.74%
Nilandhoo – Abdulla Haleel (IND) 43.88%
DHAAL ATOLL
Meedhoo – Ahmed Siyam Mohamed* (MDA) 55.45%
Kudahuvadhoo – Ahmed Amir* (MDA) 52.39%
THAA ATOLL
Vilufushi – Riyaz Rasheed* (PPM) 59.66%
Kinbidhoo – Abdulla Riyaz (JP) 54.87%
Thimarafushi – Mohamed Musthafa** (MDP) 49.51%
Guraidhoo – Hussain Manik Dhon Manik (PPM) 69.26%
LAAMU ATOLL
Isdhoo – Ahmed Rasheed Ibrahim* (PPM) 37.48%
Gan – Ismail Fayyaz (MDP) 52.24%
Fonadhoo – Abdul Raheem Abdulla* (PPM) 58.67%
Maavashu – Ahmed Azhan Fahmy (PPM) 52.84%
GAAFU ALIF
Villigili – Saudh Hussain (PPM) 40.56%
Dhaandhoo – Ahmed Assad (PPM) 44.88%
Gemanafushi – Jameel Usman (PPM) 49.60%
GAAF DHAAL
Thinadhoo North – Saudhulla Hilmy (PPM) 53.53%
Thinadhoo South – Abdulla Ahmed (JP) 53.24%
Fares-Maathoda – Hussain Mohamed Latheef (PPM) 38.41%
Madaveli – Muaz Mohamed Rasheed (IND) 41.10%
Gahdhoo – Ahmed Rasheed (PPM) 56.13%
FUVAHMULAH
Fuvahmulah North – Ali Shah (PPM) 50.60%
Mid-Fuvahmulah – Ali Fazadh (PPM) 50.91%
Fuvahmulah South – Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed* (PPM) 57.49%
ADDU CITY
Hulhudhoo – Mohamed Shahid (PPM) 49.74%
Feydhoo – Ibrahim Didi (PPM) 45.01%
Maradhoo – Ibrahim Shareef (MDP) 46.22%
Hithadhoo North – Mohamed Aslam* (MDP) 52.66%
Mid-Hithadhoo – Ibrahim Mohamed Didi (MDP) 43.08%
Hithadhoo South – Ali Nizar (MDP) 47.90%
Meedhoo – Rozaina Adam* (MDP) 35.62%
MALE’ CITY
Hulhuhenveiru – ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik* (MDP) 45.39%
Mid-Henveiru – Ali Azim (MDP)** 52.45%
Henveiru South – Mohamed Abdul Kareem ‘Rukuma’ (MDP) 58.76%
Henveiru North – Abdulla Shahid* (MDP) 52.85%
Galolhu North – Eva Abdulla* (MDP) 61.97%
Galolhu South – Ahmed Mahloof* (PPM) 64.13%
Manchangoalhi North – Mariya Ahmed Didi* (MDP) 53.06%
Manchangoalhi South – Abdulla Sinan (PPM) 50.51%
Maafanu North – Imthiyaz Fahmy* (MDP) 64.34%
Maafanu West – Mohamed Falah (MDP) 50.72%
Mid-Maafanu – Asma Rasheed (PPM) 51.56%
Maafanu South – Abdulla Rifau (PPM) 51.60%
Vili-Malé- Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik* (PPM) 58.38%
*Incumbent
**Elected to 17th People’s Majlis but stripped of seat by the Supreme Court
(0)Dislikes(0)Saudi Arabia has given the Maldives 50 tonnes of dates in celebration of the holy month of Ramdan, local media has reported.
Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Haveeru that the annual gift would be shipped to the country soon, after which he would decide on how the dates ought to be distributed.
The dates – a traditional gift from the Arab kingdom to the Maldives since 1988 – will be stored by the State Trading Organisation before being distributed by the Local Government Association.
Ramadan will fall at the end of June this year.
Growing links between the two countries in recent months have seen moves to increase educational and aviation links, as well as a Saudi pledge to build ten “world class” mosques by Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz during a recent visit to the Indian Ocean nation.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Elections Commission (EC) has announced preliminary results of Saturday’s parliamentary polls for all electoral constituencies with the exception of the Nilandhoo constituency in Faafu atoll.
Independent candidate Abdulla Haleel appears to have won the Nilandhoo seat with 645 votes while incumbent Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdul Muhsin Hameed was placed second with 644 votes.
According to local media, the EC delayed announcing the results for Nilandhoo in order to address a number of election-related complaints by the ruling coalition.
Preliminary results show that the Progressive Coalition secured a comfortable of 53 seats while the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won 26 seats.
Coalition parties have also lodged complaints regarding the Noonu Velidhoo constituency where MDP candidate Abdulla Yameen won the seat with a 13-vote margin against a Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) candidate.
PPM and MDA leaders told the press at the EC offices yesterday that there were discrepancies between the results the parties received from polling stations and those announced by the EC.
The coalition parties also informed the media that complaints regarding alleged vote buying in the constituency were also submitted with video and audio evidence.
(0)Dislikes(0)