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Police report on 2018 Presidential Election leaked- Number of voters and ballots cast does not match

MNN

Published

2 years ago

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MNN has received a leaked copy of a police report made following the investigation into the possible fraud involved in the 2018 Presidential Election. The report, which has the official letterhead and seal of MPS is alleged to have been made by Maldives Police Service  and noted 52 irregularities in the 2018 Presidential Election.  Below details some of the irregularities and concerns noted by the Maldives Police Service.

From the onset the most serious issue noted by the Maldives Police Service was that the number of people who had voted did not match with the number of ballots in some boxes. They also noted there were instances where the number of voters, the number of ballots and the counter foil number did not match. This indicates that the number of ballots did not tally to the number of voters who turned up. While this may potentially indicate fraud, it remains unclear how this was achieved.

Another irregularity noted by the Maldives Police Service was that there were there were multiple instances where they noted that there were no security features on the ballot papers when observed under UV light. These two issues cast serious doubts on the legitimacy of the 2018 Presidential Election as it would indicate that regular printers could print ballot papers and that there was a number of excessive ballots cast by an unknown individual.

Maldives Police Service also noted that many of the invalid ballots had marks on both candidates where one was marked in blue while the other was marked in black, indicating that another party had invalidated the vote after the voter had cast his ballot, as voters were only given one pen at the voting desk.

The report also curiously noted that President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Shareef had talked with an unnamed group of people prior to the election and discussed on ways to manipulate the voting process.

Among other issues noted by the Maldives Police service include the Elections Commission members and staff along with other unpermitted individuals entered the security rooms which held the ballot papers and the Elections Commission staff turning off the iPad meant to be used for the voting process to keep track of voters, resulting in the whole process going manually. This led to a significant waiting time for voters, where in some cases voters had to wait in excess of 8 hours to cast their ballots.

The 2018 Presidential Election was marked with multiple irregularities and allegations of fraud, a notion which was reaffirmed by the comments from current ruling party President Mohamed Nasheed who stated that “First of all, no one thought we would win the election. Everyone thought it would be heavily rigged, and we had no chance. But India didn’t think that. Indian officials and Indian diplomats were at it. They knew that they can create a small window, and you know, if we even get a millimeter, we knew we could go ahead and we could win the elections. So to start with, I think Indian diplomats were very clever. This is not something I usually say but they were very very clever in, in, you know there were many many unreasonable demands from us. On what India should be doing because of lack of democracy there and because everything was suppressed. But they didn’t do what we asked them to do but all sorts of other things which brought us the election.” While speaking to India Today.

While this lends credence to the oppositions claim that there was electoral fraud in the 2018 Presidential Election, there is very little means to pursue an investigation as Ahmed Shareef shortly incinerated the ballot papers while there was a police investigation and court case surrounding the election.

The 2018 Presidential Election saw President Abdulla Yameen contest against a 4 party coalition where incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the election with 58.38% of the votes while President Abdulla Yameen secured 41.62% of the votes.

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Nasheed to form new party

FI

Published

12 months ago

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17/05/2023

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The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s leader Mohamed Nasheed has decided to form a new political party.

Nasheed initiated a separate political movement within MDP, ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’, following his loss in MDP’s presidential primary held back in January. After major conflicts with the government and its policies – all lawmakers from the faction tendered their resignation from MDP on Wednesday.

The move came after Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim was expelled from the party on Tuesday and banned from rejoining for at least one year over involvement in opposition political activities surrounding the Chagos archipelago dispute.

The 12 members who resigned from MDP on Wednesday are;

Parliament’s Deputy Speaker, North Galolhu MP Eva Abdulla
Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed (Wadde)
North Maafannu MP Imthiyaz Fahumy (Inthi)
West Henveiru MP Hassan Latheef
Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb
North Kulhudhuffushi MP Yasir Abdul Latheef
Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef
Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde)
Madaveli MP Hussain Firushan
Thoddoo MP Hassan Shiyan (Gita)
North Mahchangoalhi MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu)
Gadhdhoo MP Ahmed Zahir
All 12 members are close acquittances of Nasheed. MP Hassan Latheef, during a meeting at Bodufenvalhuge on Wednesday, announced Nasheed’s decision to form a new political party. The meeting was attended by supporters of Nasheed.

Should Nasheed form a new political party, that party would be the largest opposition party in terms of members in the parliament, thereby, the minority party. The minority party at present, opposition PPM-PNC coalition has only eight members in the parliament.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

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MPs loyal to Nasheed leave MDP

FI

Published

12 months ago

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17/05/2023

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Multiple members of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) loyal to the party’s leader Mohamed Nasheed have left the party.

The members who resigned from MDP include 12 MPs. They include Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, MP Mohamed Waheed, MP Imthiyaz Fahmy (Inthi), MP Hassan Latheef, MP Ilyas Labeeb, MP Yasir Abdul Latheef, MP Hassan Afeef, MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde), MP Hussain Firushan, MP Hassan Shiyan, MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu), and MP Ahmed Zahir.

They submitted their resignation letters Wednesday.

The move comes after MDP’s parliamentary group had requested action against Inthi, Hassan Latheef, Ilyas, Yasir, and Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim earlier this week, for forming an alliance with the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhoory Party (JP) and Maldives National Party (MNP), after accusing the government of failure to protect the interests of the Maldivian people in the case lodged with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) over the disputed maritime territory between Maldives and Mauritius.

The party’s disciplinary committee decided to expel Azim from the party on Tuesday.

They are all members of Nasheed’s ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’ faction.

However, Nasheed has yet to resign from the party.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

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The Cambodian Prime Minister arrives in the Maldives on an official visit

FI

Published

1 year ago

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15/01/2023

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The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, arrived Sunday morning on an official visit to the Maldives at the invitation of H.E. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It is Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen’s first visit to the Maldives.

The Cambodian Prime Minister and accompanying delegation were received at Velana International Airport (VIA) by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid (ODRI). The government will hold a ceremony on Monday to officially welcome the Cambodian Prime Minister to the Maldives.

During the visit, President Solih would meet with Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and hold official talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation, followed by the exchange of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries. President Solih and the Cambodian Prime Minister would also deliver a joint statement on the outcomes of their discussions.

The Maldives and Cambodia established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1995.

Source(s): President Office.

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