MDP: Case seeking to halt referendum on merging elections rejected thrice

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) states the Civil Court has rejected the petition they have filed seeking to halt the upcoming referendum on conducting future presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently on three separate occasions, demanding new amendments every time.

MDP filed a petition with the Civil Court seeking to halt the referendum, which the main opposition party claims is being held unlawfully, on February 25^th.

Providing an update on the case on Friday, the party’s legal director, attorney Ahmed Mauroof, stated that on February 26, the court initially requested several amendments to the claim form.

These amendments included submitting clearer copies of official documents, such as the party’s registration and the resolution authorizing specific individuals to sign legal documents on behalf of the party. Mauroof noted that these documents had already been submitted and were the same ones used in previous court cases.

He further explained that although the documents were rescanned and resubmitted on the same day, the court requested additional amendments on March 5. On this occasion, he said the court required a witness statement confirming that the events related to the case had occurred. Mauroof argued that since the lawsuit filed by the MDP is based on the claim that certain legal requirements were not fulfilled, the burden of proving a “negative,” or something that did not occur, should not fall on the claimant.

He also accused the Civil Court of the Maldives of departing from its usual procedures in handling the matter.

“It would have been much more efficient if the court had identified all necessary amendments at once when we first submitted the form. Instead, they are informing us of issues one by one. The case has now been rejected in this manner three times,” he said.

He emphasized that the MDP’s primary objective is to have the case formally registered and proceed as quickly as possible. According to Mauroof, the most urgent priority at this stage is securing a temporary injunction to halt the proposed synchronization of the two elections. He added that, given the nature of the case, the court would have no grounds to deny such an injunction.

Notably, when the proposal to merge the presidential and parliamentary elections was first introduced, former president Mohamed Nasheed was the only prominent opposition leader to support the amendment. However, the MDP has since officially decided to oppose the move. Nasheed later indicated in an MDP National Council WhatsApp group that he is prepared to vote against the constitutional amendment in the referendum.

While the ruling People's National Congress (PNC), along with the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and the Jumhooree Party (JP), have expressed support for holding both elections on the same day, the opposition MDP and former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom remain opposed to the amendment.