Not informed of police obstructing election: Commissioner Riyaz

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has said that he is not informed of any police officer having obstructed the first round re-run of the presidential election scheduled for yesterday, Saturday, 19 October.

The commissioner said this while speaking at the Parliament 241 Committee, the security forces oversight committee, to which he was summoned today for questioning over allegations by the Elections Commission that the police obstructed Saturday's presidential election, forcing it to be cancelled.

This issue was filed to the committee by committee members Reeko Moosa Manik, Ali Waheed, Rozaina Adam and Imthiyaz Fahmy.

Riyaz said that Maldives Police Service has not been informed by Elections Commission of any work having to be halted because of obstructions by the police.

Riyaz said that he has asked President of Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeg to contact him directly if there are any concerns, but he had not been contacted by Fuad regarding any such issues.

“No one has contacted me about not being able to proceed because they were obstructed by police officers. I’ve asked him to contact me directly if he has any concerns. So I’m not informed of anything like that,” he said.

Riyaz said that he has initiated an internal inquiry after he heard Fuad mention to the media that the police obstructed the work of the Elections Commission.

He said that a letter has been sent to the Elections Commission, asking to clarify exactly which activities were obstructed and halted by the police.

“I don’t know which activities were obstructed or which activities were halted. But we have started an internal inquiry after the chair of the Elections Commission said this to the media. From police professional standards, the Elections Commission has been asked to clarify what was obstructed and what was halted,” he said.

Riyaz stressed that the police have to follow Supreme Court orders.

He said that the guideline issued by the Supreme Court required the Elections Commission to meet with relevant State Institutions within 72 hours of the court delivering its verdict, and during this meeting, the police assured the Elections Commission that they will fully cooperate and assist with all activities that are in line with the 16-point guideline issued by the court.

He said that the Supreme Court ordered the relevant State Institutions to ensure that the guideline is followed, which means that as a State Institution, Maldives Police Service has to make efforts to confirm that the requirements in the guideline are met.

He said that the Elections Commission has been informed via a letter that the police would find it difficult to cooperate if activities are not conducted in accordance with all 16 points included in the guideline.

“When we sent this letter, chair of Elections Commission contacted me on the phone and asked to give details. Now we have provided details. It states that it would be a violation of the Supreme Court order, to cooperate with election-related work that are not in accordance with the guideline issued by the court,” he said.

Riyaz said that suitable preparations were not in place when the Elections Commission tried to hold the election yesterday, and that sufficient time was not given to candidates to check the final voters’ list.

Riyaz also expressed sadness over the statement issued by the parliament, stating that the police violated the law yesterday.

“I understood from the statement issued by the parliament, that the parliament has made its decision. I am sad that it states specifically that activities were conducted following illegal orders issued by a group of police officers. As far as I know, 241 Committee is just starting to look into this matter. I understand from the statement that the parliament has made decisions before the matter is investigated. That’s very sad,” he said.