Indian Observers praised the conduct of first round of Presidential election; Jumhooree Party filed a case in the Supreme Court to annul the results of the first round of Presidential election; President Dr Mohamed Waheed dismisses Minister of Education D
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  • According to reports, a delegation of six teams of Indian observers was in the Maldives during the first round of Presidential election, at the invitation of the Elections Commission of Maldives. Four teams observed polling in Malé and surrounding islands of Villingli, Hulhumalé, Thulusudhoo, Huraa and Bandos, while one team visited Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo islands of the Seenu Atoll (Addu) in the south and another team visited Kulhudhuffushi, Hanimadhoo, Dhidhoo and nearby islands in Haa Dhaalu and Haa Alifu Atolls in the north. The Indian observer team in the Maldives has said that the success in the first round of the presidential election held on September 7, is an achievement which any of the mature democracies would have been proud of. The Indian observer team highlighted that the polling was orderly and unblemished by any notable incident. Regarding the counting of votes, the statement made by the observers read, “The counting did try everyone’s patience, each bundle of ballot papers having to be counted and recounted by Elections Commission personnel. The mutual trust between the candidates’ representatives on the one hand and between them and the counting personnel made adequate amends.” 1

    In another development, according to reports, a case has been filed to the Supreme Court by Jumhooree Party (JP), requesting the court to annul the results of the first round of the presidential election. JP has also requested an injunction to delay the second round of the presidential election, until the court issues a ruling on the case requesting annulment of the first round results. Cases have also been filed to court claiming that people below the age of 18 were included in the voters’ list by changing their birthdates, 10,000 names were included in the voters’ list by changing people’s names, and 5,000 names were included in the voters’ list by changing people’s addresses. According to JP, there are irregularities surrounding about 40,000 votes cast in the first round, and that all the documents submitted to the court in relation to this case contain true information. 2

    Reports noted that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has dismissed Minister of Education Dr Asim Ahmed from the post of Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and has appointed Minister of Environment and Energy Dr Maryam Shakeela to the post. Dr Asim will continue as the Education Minister. Dr Asim Ahmed sits in the cabinet as a member of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP). The DRP has announced that they will be supporting the main opposition, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for the presidential runoff. Dr Asim, who also sits in the DRP council, voted in favour of their decision to join MDP, in their council meeting. On the other hand, following a bitter defeat in the first round of polls, President Waheed has decided to support the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in the presidential runoff. 3 President Dr Mohamed Waheed has also dismissed Sarangu Adam Maniku from the post of Special Envoy of the President on September 12, 2013. 4

    In other developments, Elections Commission has decided to place a ballot box in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the second round of the presidential elections to be held on September 28, to facilitate voting for the large number of Maldivian Hajj pilgrims who will be in the city on polling day. Elections Commission placed ballot boxes in Trivandrum, New Delhi, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and London for the first round of polling on 7th September. 5

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