Claims are not based on evidence: Elections Commission

Lawyer representing the Elections Commission Husnu Suood has said that the claims made in the case filed against the commission by member of the Appeals Committee of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Ahmed Zaneen Adam, are not based on evidence.

Suood said this while speaking at the trial of this case in Supreme Court today.

He said that while the court has been requested for an order upon the commission to provide a copy, signed and stamped by each candidate, of the list of the people who had registered to vote, to each candidate’s representative, the commission had already provided a copy of the list of the people who had registered to vote to each candidate.

Suood said that the list was compiled according to the law, and since each candidate has been given a copy, it is not possible to make changes to this list.

He said that while Zaneen had referred to Articles 236 and 237 of the Constitution and requested the court to order the security services to ensure that no undue influence is imposed on the election, this is not mentioned in these two articles of the Constitution.

Ibrahim Rif’ath, Lawyer of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which has requested intervention into the case, said that the relevant laws indicate several deadlines in relation to the election, and it would not be possible to meet those deadlines if the Supreme Court requests an order as requested in the claims.

He went on to say that when such a case is filed to court, enough evidence must be presented to prove the case according to civil standards, but Zaneen had not presented such evidence.

Rif’ath said that the tasks of the Elections Commission cannot be determined as part of the responsibilities of the security forces, and thus, this case should not be allowed to proceed in court.

Zaneen, the plaintiff, denied Elections Commission’s claims and presented several documents as evidence to prove his case in court.

He said that his name had been registered in a house located in Henveyru earlier, but he changed it to Male’ Hiya in Galolhu four years ago; however, according to the Elections Commission’s website, he should cast his vote into a ballot box in Henveyru.

He said that it is not the citizens’ responsibility to check if they have been registered to vote, and that it is the responsibility of the Elections Commission to ensure that everyone’s names are included in the voters’ registry.

He said that anyone who is denied the right to vote has to take the matter to court and spend MVR 100,000 in the process, which is a golden opportunity for lawyers to earn money.

Zaneen’s lawyer Abdul Hannaan Ahmed said that a person from Henveyru in Male’ checked where he was registered to vote after the deadline for filing complaints had passed, and found out that he had not been registered to vote at all.

Hannaan said that this person was told by the Elections Commission that he would not be able to vote in this presidential election, but would have the opportunity to vote in the next presidential election.

Zaneen also responded to MDP’s claim that the tasks of the Elections Commission cannot be determined as part of the responsibilities of the security forces.

He said that the purpose of stating in the claims that it should be part of the responsibilities of the security forces to ensure that undue influence is not imposed on the election, is to take action to protect the people from unrest that might break out during the election.

He said that the purpose of the request from the court to issue such an order, is not to facilitate interference by the security forces in the responsibilities of the Elections Commission, and that such an order would not allow any opportunity to the security forces to influence or interfere with the election.