JP election case: Information from EC is needed to substantiate JP's evidence, says AG

Attorney General Azima Shakoor has said that further information is needed from the Elections Commission to substantiate the evidence presented to Supreme Court by Jumhoory Party (JP).

Speaking today at the hearing of JP's election case in Supreme Court asking to annul the election results, Azim said that electoral register had individuals listed under the same identification card number, in addition to having identification card numbers that were not issued by the Department of National Registration.

The President himself has faced such issues, Azima said, and stressed that these issues must be addressed before proceeding to the second round of polls.

Azima said that the State has no interest in neither postponing the election, nor cancelling the first round of polls.

She noted that the Elections Commission should work to clarify issues to the public, rather than be defensive about their conduct.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) lawyer Ahmed Zaneen Adam blatantly stated in court today that the first round of elections is invalid.

He alleged that forged ballot papers were printed in Haa Dhaalu Kulhudhuffushi and pointed out that two individuals have been arrested in the case. He said that it must be clarified how the perpetrators obtained a digital copy of the ballot papers, in order to make the prints.

Speaking on behalf of Jumhoory Party, the party’s vice presidential candidate Dr Hassan Saeed said that all evidence presented to the court have been collected through a special elections grievance hotline set up by the party after the polls.

He told the court the Elections Commission’s BPRS computer system was established by a group of Indian technicians and that the Commission had neglected to involve the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) in the process. Citing a statement by the Attorney General during the earlier hearing that the said that the Elections Commission's IT systems were hacked and compromised, Hassan Saeed said that the IT system is known to have issues.

Hassan Saeed also alleged that the Elections Commission had issued a secret circular facilitating double voting.

JP told the court that they needed to present evidence to prove their claims and asked the court to allow them present witnesses. JP also requested the court hear the testimony of their witnesses without revealing their identity.

Stressing the importance of the anonymity of the witnesses and the risk their security, Hassan Saeed highlighted a recent attempted arson attack on the motorcycle of the deputy leader of JP, Ilham Ahmed.

Lawyer representing Elections Commission Husnu Al-Suood told the court that, reflecting on the Elections Act and that evidence presented to court, there is nothing that warrants a situation where the election results need to annulled.

He said that, with the court’s permission, he is willing to present officials from all 470 ballot boxes as witnesses to disprove JP's allegations.

Suood said that the secret circulars are a common practice by the commission during the lead-up to every election and that the circulars did not facilitate double voting.

Referring to a Attorney General’s request during the previous hearing, and the same request by JP today, asking the court to issue an order upon the Prosecutor General to order the police to investigate all irregularities surrounding the elections, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) lawyer Hisaan Hussain told the court that the neither the plaintiff (JP), nor the Attorney General should be able to make a request that is outside the boundaries of the points filed in the initial case.

Concluding the three-hour hearing, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz hussain said that the court will later announce the date for the next hearing.