Director General of Elections Commission dismissed without warning

The Elections Commission has dismissed its Director General, Mohamed Tholal without warning, citing his employment at Athletics Association as a reason.

Following the dismissal, Tholal said on Twitter, “The reason for my dismissal is to retaliate because we protested, and also because votes cannot be rigged at 2013 Elections if we are there.”

Tholal said that his dismissal notification states that he is dismissed effective today due to his employment at another institution.

He pointed out that he was not given any prior notice, and that he does not receive a salary from his employment at the Athletics Association.

Tholal stressed that he should have been given the opportunity to choose between the two employers.

Secretary General of Elections Commission, Asim Abdul Sattar said that Tholal was dismissed according to the regulations of the Commission; and that according to article 20 of the Employment Act, only the dismissed employee needs to be informed of the reason for dismissal.