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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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President Waheed meets with delegation of UN election observers

President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with a delegation of election observers representing the United Nations Department of Political Affairs in Male’ yesterday (September 9).

According to the President’s Office, the delegation discussed the election held Saturday (September 7), as well as the second round of voting now scheduled for September 28 after no single candidate was able to secure 51 percent of ballots cast.

Along with commending the government for conducting what it called a free, fair and transparent elections, the UN delegation called for a peaceful run-off vote and “smooth transition” to a new administration once polling was concluded.

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Swedish national acquitted of charges related to death of British couple in quad bike crash

Swedish national Filip Eugen Petre has been acquitted of all charges pressed against him during a Criminal Court trial, concerning his alleged role in a quad bike accident that resulted in the death of a British couple at Kuredu Island Resort in August 2011.

Emma and Jonathon Gray from Yorkshire in the UK, who had been staying on the resort for their honeymoon, were reported dead on August 6, 2011, after the quad bike they were riding was believed to have collided with a tree.

Petre, a son of a shareholder at the resort, was later charged with ‘disobedience to order’ by state prosecutors over his alleged decision to transport the couple on a vehicle not intended for passengers.

Criminal Court Media Official Ahmed Mohamed Manik confirmed that the presiding judge had ruled the suspect was not guilty, based on statements and evidence produced during the trial. The decision was made shortly before the presidential election held on September 7.

Manik said he was unable to provide Minivan News with further details of the case at time of press.

Local media reported on September 6 the presiding judges’ conclusion that, although the quad bike was not intended to carry passengers, staff on the resort had said the vehicle had previously been used to transport more than one person at a time.

According to Haveeru, the Criminal Court also ruled that the state could not conclusively prove Petre was directly responsible for the incident on the property. He was therefore acquitted of the charges.

Local media reported that Kuredu’s management had offered to cover all the expenses for the upbringing of the Gray’s son, who was just six months old at the time of the incident.

A spokesperson for Kuredu Island Resort declined to comment on the case, referring media enquiries to the Criminal Court.

Case stalled

Minivan News reported in March this year that Petre’s case was at a standstill as the Criminal Court claimed it was waiting on responses from the parents of the deceased regarding their preferred form of punishment for the accused.

However, both police in the UK and the families of the deceased previously insisted that their decision had been submitted and re-submitted to the court in 2012.

Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid at the time said that, although the trial hearings were over, a final verdict would not be delivered by the court until all family members had been consulted on their preferred form of punishment for the accused.

A relation of the Grays previously told Minivan News that their statements had been submitted multiple times on different occasions to the courts.

“On the last hearing, which was held on February 27, closing arguments were given by the state and the defense. The judge has stated that the final verdict of the charge would be delivered at the next scheduled hearing,” the relative said the family had been told.

Under Islamic law, the family of the victim is given the option to sentence the accused to execution, blood money or to forgive them.

The same relative added that, while they did wish to see some form of punitive sentence for the driver if he was convicted, the family did not want any severe or long-term action to be taken against the defendant.

“He’s just a young guy. We don’t want to see his life ruined,” the relative said.

Jonathan Grey’s mother Cath Davies told UK-based newspaper the Halifax Courier in March 2012 that the prospect of Petre facing the death penalty was “shocking. It’s absolutely horrendous.”

Previous hearings

In previous hearings of the trial, prosecutors claimed that the charge of ‘disobedience to order’ Petre was accused of had resulted from his decision to carry people on a vehicle which was not intended for passengers.

The prosecution contended that his criminal action began from the moment he allowed the couple to ride with him on the vehicle.

Presiding Judge Abdul Baary Yousuf declared in court during earlier hearings that Petre’s lawyer had himself confessed during the trial that his client had driven the quad bike carrying Emma and Jonathan Gray as it crashed on the tourist property.

As a result of this confession, the judge said the state did not have to produce any evidence to prove Petre was the driver of the vehicle during the collision.

Representing the prosecution, State Attorney Aishath Fazna also contended that because Petre had “confessed” to driving the quad bike, she did not believe the state had to produce evidence to support this assumption.

However, Petre’s lawyer Areef Ahmed responded at the time that his client had not directly confessed to driving the quad bike and argued that his client continued to deny the charges against him.

Petre’s lawyer has also contended that his client could not be charged under Islamic Sharia because his client is non-Muslim.

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Commonwealth, Indian election observers praise conduct of polls

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

In their interim statement, the Commonwealth’s observer group labeled the election “inclusive and competitive, with freedoms of association, assembly and movement provided for.”

The team of 17 monitors from around the world visited 14 atolls and observed stations opening, voting, closing and counting of ballots, as well as monitoring the campaign period.

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

The group described the voter register as “accurate and robust”: “Fears expressed by some political parties regarding possible large numbers of deceased voters and voters registered in the wrong geographic area seem to be unfounded, based on the low incidence of election day complaints,” said Gonzi.

The group did observe long wait times early in the day as many people turned up to vote early, but noticed that these had dropped around midday. The secrecy of voting was compromised in some situations by a lack of space, while despite improved procedures for handling assisted voting, this was handled inconsistently, the group noted.

Counting at polling stations was conducted transparently, “if slowly.”

“The vote count at the polling station was highly transparent with media monitors, party observers, and national and international observers able to scrutinise the process closely,” said Gonzi.

“The count process was conducted in a consistently transparent manner, with officials observed by the group demonstrating willingness to repeat steps in the process in response to concerns expressed by party observers.

“Polling officials were methodical in their approach, explaining decisions on any invalid ballots to those present.

It was noted that while the 1.1 percent of invalid ballots fell within international best practice, “the group noted that in some situations where the intent of the voter was clear, the ballot was invalidated as the mark was not the requisite check mark.”

While the legal framework provided for elections was sufficient, the group noted that “the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms for violations of the code of conduct for candidates and campaigners, and a lack of clarity and coordination between relevant institutions appears to have resulted in a lack of timely response to alleged violations.”

Minor disruptions due to campaigning were reported, “but these did not appear to be widespread.”

Noting the high voter turnout of 88 percent, the Commonwealth group praised the spirit of participation and strong commitment to the democratic process on behalf of the Maldivian people.

Television Maldives was also praised for treating all candidates fairly, particularly during the campaigning period. However coverage of the campaigns “by some privately-owned broadcast and print media generally reflected political bias. Many private television stations and newspapers (print and online) are owned by or associated with political actors, with content perceived as slanted towards the associated political party.”

Dr Gonzi would not comment on allegations that media had reported polling figures that did not reflect those of the Elections Commission during the vote counting, a discrepancy which led to a skirmish between police and Jumhoree Party officials outside the Dharubaruge convention centre prior to the release of the results at 5:00am on Sunday morning.

“The point we made in the statement refers more to the way the media handled the political campaign than the election day itself. Of course it is relevant itself, we are talking about the campaign and the conclusion we have come to is first of all that the national broadcasting station was fair, dealt fairly with the four candidates gave them equal access and in fact the feedback we got from representatives of the candidates was rather positive in this context. Hats off to the national service provider,” Dr Gonzi said.

The Commonwealth team did express concern about the use of negative rhetoric against some candidates by others, allegations of “financial and material support” provided to voters by some candidates, and “alleged inappropriate use of state resources”.

“A weak legal framework for electoral offences, combined with a lack of clarity regarding different institutions roles in addressing some electoral offences, limits the ability for some issues of concern to be adequately addressed in a timely manner,” Dr Gonzi noted.

The Commonwealth observers will return for the second round, and will make a final assessment following the conclusion of the process.

Indian observation team

Six teams of Indian observers, including four in and around Male, one on Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo in the Seenu Atoll (Addu) in the south and another on Kulhudhuffushi, Hanimadhoo, Dhidhoo and nearby islands in Haa Dhallu and Haa Alifu Atolls in the north, covering 33.6 percent of all booths.

“The polling was orderly and unblemished by any notable incident. It was also an enjoyable experience for the voter,” stated J M Lyngdoh of the Indian observer team.

“The voters’ lists were accurate and prominently displayed. The ballot boxes were opened and closed as per the scheduled time. The discipline, patience and dignity of the voter and the sheer competence, industry and cheerfulness of the election staff were quite admirable. The police were ubiquitous but discreetly non-intrusive,” he said.

“The counting did try everyone’s patience, each bundle of ballot papers having to be counted and recounted by Elections Commission personnel. The mutual trust between the candidates’ representatives on the one hand and between them and the counting personnel made adequate amends,” he added.

“The success in the first round is an achievement which any of the mature democracies would have been proud of. This was a transparent and fair election and there is no reason why the run off should be any less than the first round,” he concluded.

US statement

The US has also congratulated the Maldives on the conduct of the first round of voting.

“The very high voter turnout showed the strong commitment of the people of Maldives to democratic government,” said US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf.

“As the country prepares for a second round of voting on September 28, we call on all parties to respect the democratic process and continue to allow for a free, fair and peaceful vote to take place. This is the second presidential election since Maldives embraced multi-party democracy in 2008, and thus represents a historic opportunity for Maldivians to select democratically the representative of their choice,” Harf said.

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Maldives’ police investigate suspected black magic doll at polling station

Police were summoned to investigate an alleged black magic doll after it was discovered at the Shaviyani Atoll School polling station during the presidential election vote counting.

The suspicious ‘fanditha’ (black magic) doll was first noticed on the school’s wall by an Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) election observer as well as polling station officials on Kanditheemu Island during the vote counting process Saturday (September 7). They contacted local police to investigate the suspicious doll.

“The police just checked whether the doll was real [fanditha],” MDP Kanditheemu Campaign Manager Mohamed ‘Mox’ Fahumee told Minivan News today (September 9). “They did not actually want to get involved in such [black magic related] things.”

After the police were called to the polling station they – and local islanders – asked community members, the Shaviyani Atoll School’s site supervisor, and Bangladeshi labourers working at the school to try and discover who made the doll and with what intention, explained Fahumee.

“One of the laborers told us he made it ‘just for fun’ to pass the time, since they do not have very much work to do,” said Fahumee. “He made the doll from wool, putty, and wall paint and then placed it on the wall to dry.”

The Maldives Police Service had not responded to enquiries at time of press.

Fanditha fear

“On this island [Kanditheemu] people always talk about black magic during elections. They claim that government aligned parties – the Political Party of the Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), etc – practice fanditha to gain votes,” said Fahumee.

“When people talk about fanditha they become afraid,” noted Fahumee.

“Black magic might work, there are so many stories of people dying because of fanditha. During elections people talk about that and it spreads [around the island] very quickly, but they talk in secret,” he continued.

Swing voters who are not strongly in favor one candidate or political party versus another are particularly susceptible to fearing black magic will influence their vote, he explained.

“If they are finding it difficult to select a candidate and they are afraid [of black magic influence], they might vote for someone who does not represent their best interests,” he added.

Fahumee explained that while most island residents talk about possible incidents of fanditha, the discussions are conducted in secret, out of fear the island’s black magic practitioner will “come after” the person(s) talking about him.

Although not everyone believes in the power of fanditha, or “accepts those kinds of things”, it is still an issue – and precautions are taken – because it sows fear and uncertainty about the impartiality of the voting process, noted Fahumee.

More cursed coconuts

Concerns of black magic being used for election vote tampering have been raised on several islands in the Maldives.

MDP supporters on Guraidhoo Island in Kaafu Atoll reportedly began lining up to vote at 2:00pm Friday (September 6), after rumours began circulating of a black magic coconut buried at the front of the queue.

It is thought the candidate chosen by the first person in line standing over the coconut would then be the candidate picked by all remaining voters.

“We don’t believe in these things, but some MDP supporters waited just in case,” 25 year-old Guraidhoo resident Hussain Nadheef told Minivan News. “We will never let PPM [use black magic].”

Last week, police summoned a white magic practitioner to evaluate a young coconut believed to have been cursed by a black magic spell, after it was found near the Guraidhoo Island presidential election polling station.

Coconuts with black magic spells were allegedly being used to sway voters’ political party allegiance and incite confrontations between MDP supporters and police on Fuvahmulah, ahead of Saturday’s Presidential Election.

Given the widespread reporting of black magic election tampering and the cursed coconut issues on Guraidhoo and Fuvahmulah, Minivan News asked Elections Commission Vice Chair Ahmed Fayaz whether the issue was raised by any election observers.

Fayaz noted that he had not discussed the issue with any of the observers, and had first read about the story on the UK’s Guardian website.

Asked if he felt that the additional international media spotlight on the election triggered by the coconut may have had a positive impact on the election process, Fayaz laughed and said “maybe”.

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“The people have again said a resounding ‘no’ to Gayoom, as they did in 2008”: Nasheed

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Sunday night held the first political gathering since the election to rally its supporters, ahead of the upcoming run-off election on September 28.

Thousands of people attended the rally near the tsunami monument in Male. The MDP had confidently predicted a first round victory on Saturday, campaigning to the slogan ‘Ehburun’ (one round), but a split vote between three rival parties left the party just 4.55 percent short of the goal.

“I assure all of you that this man – myself – is not a person who will run out of options. This man, God willing, is not someone who will get tired. This man is not someone who will step back. We will go forward, forward, swiftly forward. God willing, we will win this election,” Nasheed said, beginning his address.

“We very clearly know the political realities of this country, and the hopes and sentiments of the citizens. The people have once again said a loud, resounding “no” to those who had led the long 30 year rule (of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom),” he said.

“Even back in 2008, people said a loud ‘no’ to them. However, they were behind a coup d’état which ruined our Maldives. Everyone in this country has no doubt today that the people have said no to that dirty and foul act. The people want an MDP government, the people want development,” Nasheed continued.

“The people do not want to relive the experience of PPM’s 30 year rule. The people do not want torture in the jails. The people do not want religious scholars to be put under arrest. The people do not want to be banished or jailed for long periods, under article 38 [of the penal code], as a result of a word they may utter or a gesture they may make. The people do not want President Maumoon,” Nasheed said.

“The people do not want PPM. The people do not want Abdulla Yameen. The PPM is a party of 50,000 votes. They can continue to remain that way.”

“In the interests of their party, they may hold discussions with other politicians. But as I see it, the tails will be knotted amongst themselves. It will not be an alliance made among the citizens. The citizens are allied with the citizens. MDP is allied with the citizens. God willing, we will win this election for you,” Nasheed continued.

“God willing, they cannot topple this man again. Even if they do, God willing, we will get up again even more quickly. We will get up and sprint forward. God willing, we will complete this race,” he asserted.

“Do not get worried. Do not be anxious. Take a seat. Be comfortable. We will smoothly take this ship and moor it at peaceful shores. We can do this. We can easily win this election, and today the whole of the country knows this.”

Nasheed further stated that the party’s competitors, and friends who did not vote for the party, had not thought that the party could “gather such an overwhelming majority”, saying the results had left them astounded.

“They could not sleep last night, nor will they be able to sleep tonight. We will go ahead to win this election.”

“The people have seen how the 30 year regime was led. The people have seen the complete life of the candidate competing against me. You’ve also seen my life. Now you can weigh them, measure them against each other, and evaluate them. All of you gathered here, and all citizens, very clearly know what the people will decide. The decision of 95,000 citizens, this was not a mistake.”

“It was because of of ‘baaghee’ [traitor] Mohamed Waheed that we could not complete our five year term in government. What we faced last night was also because of this baaghee, Mohamed Waheed. God willing, now we are free of him. There is nowhere to go with the 10,000 votes he was able toget,” Nasheed said of his former Vice President and incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Nasheed also alleged that people from the PPM and Jumhoree Alliance were approaching MDP campaign managers in various islands, and himself, and expressing an interest in working together for the second round. He stated that these included former ministers who had served in Gayoom’s cabinet.

“The people do not want to crawl into an oil well, they want a roof over their heads. The people want to be able to get medical assistance when needed. To be able to educate their children in their islands. When boredom sets in, to have options of ridding themselves of it, to have options for their children to engage in exercise and physical activities,” he stated. “This vision is to be seen in the MDP manifesto.”

“The people do not want a government filled with nepotism. They do not want the leader’s wife or her family to continuously interfere and influence the government’s activities,” Nasheed said, continuing to criticise his opponents.

“The biggest challenge that Gayoom faced in his long 30 years is that he had to maintain a family-led government. He just was never able to move out of that. The people of the Maldives felt the bitterness of this. The people understand the benefits of having freedom of expression, freedom of assemblyand the freedom to carry out peaceful political activity. [They understand] the quite fond hope that this country is getting because of this system – that we can develop, that this country is rich in natural resources and that we do not have to live isolated and impoverished is very much clear to the people of this country.” he said.

“I assure the Maldivian people that, God willing, I will not go home without winning this election. This man will not get tired. This man will not step back. We will go forward, forward, swiftly forward,” Nasheed said, concluding his speech.

In addition to MDP presidential candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed, Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid and a number of MPs spoke at the rally.

The MDP won the most number of votes, winning 45.45 percent in an election with 88.44 percent voter turnout. Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) will be contesting in the second round – scheduled for September 28 – having won 25.35 percent of the votes.

The Jumhoree coalition’s candidate Gasim Ibrahim came third with 24.07 percent, with incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan receiving just 5.13 percent of the votes.

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Nasheed vindicated but faces tricky run-off: Times of India

Nasheed accused Gayoom of engineering the coup with help of mutinous police and military officers. He had accused tourism tycoons like Ibrahim, angry over his policies like increase of taxes, for bankrolling it, writes Sameer Arshad for the Times of India.

The international community recognised his removal as legitimate power transfer in the Maldives, where stability is crucial for India’s interests as it overlaps the Indian Ocean’s major sea lanes through which 97 percent Indian trade by volume and 75 percent by value pass.

But the first round results have made it clear the Maldivians did not agree. They have voted against the removal of the country’s first democratically-elected president, who earned Amnesty International’s Prisoner of Conscience title for his campaign against Gayoom’s rule.

The Maldivians were fed up with the instability, which followed his ouster and adversely impacted the mainstay of the country’s economy – tourism.

The anxieties over the country’s dented image as a high-end holiday paradise were reflected in Nasheed’s performance on resort islands. Workers chose to vote for him even on the islands that his opponents own.

Nasheed’s proactive approach towards issues like climate change, which poses existential threat to countries like Maldives, along with his social programmes, had earned him a lot of popularity.

These factors contributed to his emphatic comeback despite his arrest twice and questions over his candidacy.

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MDP to resume campaigning for “few thousand extra votes” needed for second round win

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate, former President Mohamed Nasheed has stated that the party has resumed campaign activities on Sunday (September 8 ) to gather “the few thousand additional votes” needed to guarantee a win in the second round of the election scheduled for September 28.

“My first obligation, of course, is to thank every single Maldivian for participating in yesterday’s democratic election,” the candidate leading Saturday’s poll began.

Speaking to the press at his residence Kenereege for the first time since Saturday’s election, Nasheed stated that he did not believe anyone could describe the party’s total 45.45 percent of votes as “failing in the first round”.

“After three years of government we have received an overwhelming majority of over 95,000 votes. That is far, far more than, for instance, Gayoom managed to do after 30 years in government. And of course, Dr Waheed, after two years in government has failed so, so badly,” Nasheed said, referring to the incumbent’s 5.13 percent support in the first round.

“The election held yesterday was very well organised by the Elections Commission (EC). There were a few concerning issues about some ballot boxes. We believe that in some of the ballot boxes the voter turnout is much higher than the electoral list, and we would like the Elections Commission to explain these irregularities and discrepancies to us,” Nasheed said.

“As I see it, many Maldivians have voted for the MDP: over 95,000 citizens came out and voted in support of having our policies implemented. However, these 95,000 votes are still two or three thousand short of what we needed to win the election in a single round,” Nasheed claimed.

“Our discussions are now about what needs to be done to gain these two to three thousand additional votes that we need. There are things that this party knows for certain: as in, we know that, God willing, we will succeed if we put in hard work and maximum effort,” Nasheed said, adding that the party will hold a rally to initiate campaign efforts tonight.

“Many renowned and capable individuals in the Maldives who used to support or work for other political parties called me last night. I am speaking about many individuals from the Jumhoree Party (JP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP). What I have to tell them all is that MDP has development in its heart, we have no other objective. All persons are welcome to join us,” Nasheed said. He added that this included former ministers, as well as members of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s family.

“One of the biggest realities that has come to light due to the results of this election is that the citizens of the Maldives want an MDP government, they want good governance. Another reality that came to light from the results is that my former Vice President, ‘baaghee’ (traitor) Mohamed Waheed Hassan has no support at all, and that activities like [his] have no support in the country.”

“I still believe that it will be detrimental to the country’s development if we are to split up the cabinet to various parties,” Nasheed said, when asked if he planned to form alliances with other political parties for the second round.

He added that any individuals are welcome to work with the party to contribute to the development plans included in the party’s “Costed and Budgeted” manifesto.

“Some parties were creating a lot of deception under the pretence of speaking about Islam. I hope that these people will stop working in this manner. I believe that a small number of citizens get confused by these deceptive messages, but my hope is that in the next two weeks or so, they too will come to see the reality,” Nasheed responded, when asked what he felt could be the cause of failing – with such a narrow margin – to win the election in the first round itself.

“We will respect Islam and uphold its values. We will not place religion in trays and peddle it out like them,” said Nasheed.

International community

“What the international community now needs to understand is, despite what is written in the CONI (Commission of National Inquiry) report, MDP is the party that has the largest support base in the Maldives,” Nasheed stated.

“Unfortunately, the party which is ideologically closest to MDP has not been able to make much of a show in this election because of how they were led to work with Dr Waheed. I sometimes feel this is the work of the international community, who pushed the DRP towards Waheed, because they have been engaged in the politics of this country very heavily,” Nasheed alleged.

“They have always wanted Dr Waheed to come out with a better showing. And they have edged and shoved certain political groups in this country towards Dr Waheed,” Nasheed continued.

“I honestly hope that they will understand the realities of this country, and that they backed the wrong horse,” Nasheed said.

Battle lines

After narrowly finishing third during yesterday’s election with 24.07 percent of the vote, the Jumhoree Party (JP) said it had not yet decided on how it would approach a second round of voting. Despite coming third by just over a percent, the party said no decision had been taken over whether it would contest the provisional result.

“We need to consult the various party councils on how we will stand,” said JP Policy Secretary Mohamed Ajmal.

After a group of around 15 JP supporters demonstrated outside the Dharubaruge convention centre early on Sunday after of the Elections Commission (EC) unveiled the provisional election results, Ajmal said the party had not yet decided to contest the validity of the counting.

“We have raised some concerns with the EC about the voting process, but have not said we will contest [the poll],” he said. “We have alerted [the EC] of our concerns and they are gradually coming up with responses to them.”

According to Ajmal, the party has raised several concerns about how polling was conducted by the EC yesterday, including instances where certain individuals had reportedly been barred from voting, and cases of other people finding ballots already cast under their name.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek today dismissed allegations of improper conduct during voting, but said the commission’s complaints department would investigate any reported irregularities.

Meanwhile, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s campaign team said the incumbent would not be putting out a statement regarding his own intentions after Saturday’s result. A statement was expected later this week, according to a source in his team.

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) confirmed that senior officials including presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen and his running mate Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed had met in Male’ shortly after ballot counting had to discuss their second round plans.

MP Ahmed Nihan said at the time that the party had looked to meet with potential allies, including President Waheed and Gasim Ibrahim ahead of the second round, confirming that every other candidate who stood in the election against Nasheed would be invited “to be on-board” in the run-off.

MP Nihan and vice presidential candidate Dr Jameel were not responding to calls at time of press.

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President receives five percent of votes, Nasheed to enter second round against Yameen

Additional reporting by Neil Merrett, Leah Malone, Ahmed Nazeer, Daniel Bosley, Ahmed Naish, Eleanor Johnstone, Mariyath Mohamed, Mohamed Naahee

Read Minivan News’ blogging of Saturday’s poll

Incumbent President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has been handed a resounding defeat in the first round of polls, with provisional results recording his ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition as receiving just 5.13 percent of the vote.

Waheed ran as an independent candidate due to controversy over whether his Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) had the minimum 10,000 members needed for official recognition.

The incumbent stood in coalition with the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP).

Many of the DRP’s more than 21,000 members apparently declined to vote for the party, with the coalition receiving just 10,750 votes out of 209,495 polled.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) also suffered disappointment, painting almost every atoll yellow, but proving unable to achieve the 51 percent needed for the first round victory it had confidently predicted with cries of ‘Ehburun!’ (‘one round’).

With the vote split between three political adversaries, the MDP faced an uphill battle to achieve its goal, falling around 24 percent short of the 125,000 votes it claimed were pledged during its nationwide door-to-door campaign.

However, the MDP’s 95,244 votes represented a significant gain on its first round performance in 2008 of 44,293 votes (24.91 percent of the total vote in 2008).

The tightest race was that the for second place, with Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen at 25 percent – barely 1 percent ahead of rival pro-government candidate, resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim.

Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek confirmed at a press conference held at 5:00am on Sunday ( September 8 ) that the commission will hold a run-off election on September 28, between Nasheed and Yameen.

However, the narrow margin separating Gasim and Yameen suggests the position of runner-up may be hotly contested.

A small group of Gasim supporters had gathered outside Dharubaruge early this morning in protest over what they claim were discrepancies between votes counted and eligible voters for several boxes. It was unclear if this data was taken directly from the elections commission, or from local media outlets – some of which reported erroneous figures throughout the day.

Thowfeek said the Commission’s complaints bureau was looking into those complaints that had been submitted, and would take necessary action where required.

The provisional results as of 5:00am on Sunday September 8 were:

Gasim Ibrahim – 50,422 (24.07%)
Mohamed Waheed – 10,750 (5.13%)
Abdulla Yameen – 53,099 (25.35%)
Mohamed Nasheed – 95,224 (45.45%)

Nasheed proved popular among resort workers with the MDP recording strong majorities in most resort ballot boxes.

On Bandos Island Resort, owned by Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen, provisional results showed Nasheed leading with 136 votes, Yameen in second place with 81 votes, Gasim third with 39 votes and President Waheed in fourth place with 8 votes.

In Irufushi Resort, owned by MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel Shiyam, whose Maldivian Development Alliance party is in coalition with the PPM, Nasheed won 59 votes to Yameen’s 38 votes and Gasim at third place with 6 votes and Waheed at fourth with 1 vote.

In Kuredhu Island Resort, owned by the government-aligned Champa family, Nasheed led with 50 votes, Yameen in second place with 33 votes, Gasim third with 14 votes and Waheed fourth with 1 vote.

Provisional results also showed former President Nasheed leading in overseas ballot boxes, suggesting strong support among the diaspora and students. Nasheed has 504 votes in Malaysia with Yameen in second place with 190, Gasim at 154, Waheed at 84 and 9 invalid votes.

In Singapore, Nasheed secured the most votes with 67, and Yameen at second place with 28 votes, Gasim third with 19 votes and Waheed fourth with 14 votes.

Voting peaceful

Voting took place peacefully throughout the day, with large numbers of voters lining up early due to fears concerns the polls would face disruption later in the day.

These appeared largely unfounded and polling closed at 4:00pm with only minor disruptions reported.

Elections Commissioner (EC) Fuwad Thowfeek acknowledged some difficulties in the morning with large numbers of people lining up to cast their ballots.

“We sent our officials to speed up the polling process in stations that had been identified as slow,” he said at a press conference today.

Complaints regarding voting received by the EC included some political parties continuing to campaign and photographs of some ballots taken illegally and circulated on social media.

239,593 people were eligible to vote, a 15 percent increase on the first election in 2008. Voter turnout was confirmed at 88.44 percent.

Vote counting

Vote counting proceeded smoothly at the beginning of the process, although blow-by-blow information was not always easy to obtain, with glacial official EC updates online, and otherwise very informative local media infographics in some cases reporting 102 percent voter turnout for much of the day.

The initial exit poll suggested over 200,000 people have voted, said Vice President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Fayaz, a turnout of over 83 percent.

Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek said there were no major problems, although be acknowledged the commission had trouble closing two ballot boxes.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef advised Minivan News that EC officials at Majeedhiya School requested police presence at the polling station, but said officers did not remove the ballot box. “The EC removed the box in a vehicle, not police,” stated Haneef.

“What happened with the ballot box at Majeediyya School was dissent arising between some election officials and representatives from a candidate,” Thowfeek stated. “Some people questioned the check marks on ballot papers, and had disagreed over whether some marks are to be counted as valid votes.”

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

“The incidents that have happened on election day will not have a material impact on the outcome of the election,” he said.

TM confidently called Nasheed’s progression to the second round, but could not call the runner up due to a margin of error larger than the difference between the vote counts of Yameen and Gasim.

According to Transparency’s statement:

99.5 percent of polling stations had closed by 5:00pm
Only 0.2 percent of voters complained that their names were not on the voter registry, and 0.05 percent complained that they were unable to vote at polling stations
Voting was temporarily halted at 3.8 percent of polling stations, half of these interventions by the presiding officer. The remainder involved “an unruly voter or two, or an enthusiastic political party member”.
1.4 percent had instances of violence, mostly minor, and election was otherwise largely peaceful
Police entered 18.8 percent of polling stations, 80 percent of the time at the invitation of the presiding officer
Candidates were well represented at polling stations – Gasim 73.7 percent, Waheed 29.6 percent, Yameen 74.2 percent, Nasheed 91.5 percent
Counting concluded without controversy at 85 percent of all polling stations, and only 0.22 percent of ballot papers were disputed by observers/candidates
82.6 percent of polling stations reported assisted votes

Reactions

President Waheed’s Senior Advisor Teresa Wells said the incumbent would not be releasing an immediate statement, with a comment on his future plans ahead of a run off vote expected to be released on Sunday.

DRP Parliamentary Group Leader, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, this evening said the party would be “considering its options” ahead of the second round after the coalition’s poor polling.

The party earlier this year ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition with the PPM, however Dr Mausoom told Minivan News this evening that he did not wish to comment on whether this stance would force the DRP into an alliance with the MDP in a run-off vote on September 28.

Dr Mausoom welcomed what he said he been a “beautiful” election, praising authorities including the Elections Commission for their efforts.

“Although there were some reservations, Maldivians have held a free and fair election, with Dr Waheed also expressing his confidence for the EC. This was great to see,” he said.

MDP Youth Wing Leader Shauna Aminath said “with only five percent of the vote, it only confirms that Waheed is an un-elected coup-installed puppet.”

Other elements of the MDP appeared disappointed after failing to achieve a first round win. MDP Spokesperson and Henveiru South MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor acknowledged during the counting that “we are not performing as expected – the race is very close.”

Senior MDP figure and former Minister for Housing and Environment, Mohamed Aslam, told Minivan News during the later stages of counting that the MDP was “preparing for a second round”.

” We didn’t get what we wanted from Male’,” he said, outside the Dharubaruge convention centre.

He anticipated that the MDP would face the PPM in the second round, saying that the party was not concerned about Gasim: “Yameen is not an idiot, Gasim is an idiot.”

He noted that the turnout was lower than expected, and anticipated even lower figures for the second round.

Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan confirmed that senior officials from the party including presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen and his running meet Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed were presently meeting in Male’ to discuss second round plans.

MP Nihan said that the party would now look to meet with potential allies, and confirmed that every other candidate who stood in today’s election against Nasheed would be invited “to be on-board” in the run-off vote.

“It is quite clear we will be facing the MDP in the second round,” he said.

Nihan added that he expected for the PPM to make a statement on its support for the second round vote “sooner rather than later”, once talks were completed.

Jumhoree Party (JP) Spokesperson Moosa Ramiz said any possible decision on how the party contests the second round would be expected today.

“We are still waiting at the moment,” he said, adding that discussions need to be held between JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim and the party’s council before finalising any possible alliance.

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