New date for JSC election to be announced after 3 August

The Attorney General’s Office has said that a new date for the election to appoint a member representing lawyers to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will be announced after 3 August 2014.

The Attorney General’s Office Spokesperson said that the new date will be announced after Eid holidays.

The election was postponed on 13 July following an injunction by the Civil Court, over a case filed by the Chief Magistrate of Gaafu Dhaalu Fiyoree court Abdul Razzaq.

Abdul Razzaq's case stated that the procedures established by the Attorney General’s Office to conduct the election were inadequate and that they hinder the right to vote for lawyers in the islands.

The court issued its verdict on the case yesterday, which stated that as per the procedure published by the Attorney General’s Office, voting need not be conducted in islands with less than five registered lawyers.

The court said that if voting is conducted in islands with less than five registered lawyers, it would not be possible to maintain secrecy in the voting process in many islands. It highlighted the importance of secrecy in voting, to ensure that everyone can cast their votes without intimidation.

The court further said that the State had failed to act in line with Article 11 (a) of the election procedure. In this regard, it said that registration had been closed by the time the final list of eligible voters was published, which could have deprived some lawyers from registering to vote.