The concern surrounding the commission’s decision to push back the registration process of The Democrats was also pointed out, as many believe that this pushback from the commission is a direct impact of the Government’s influence on the commission.
President of Elections Commission
The upcoming election season in the Maldives is characterized by heightened emotions, with opposing parties engaged in intense exchanges and a significant amount of back-and-forth. While these emotions are a normal part of any election season in countries all around the globe, one thing is extremely important even amidst the fight for the presidency: honesty and transparency from Government bodies towards its citizen.
In every election season, including in smaller nations like the Maldives, the spectre of rigged elections and unscrupulous attempts to cling to power looms large. The citizens of the Maldives, living in a democratic country where they possess the authority to select their leaders, often harbour concerns about the possibility of a dishonest outcome. The paramount expectation is that the elected leader will steadfastly work in the best interests of the nation and its people.
And though it is extremely crucial for government bodies to prioritize this trustworthiness in order to facilitate a fair and transparent election process, it appears that the Maldives is now faced with the hardship of a questionable body of the Government – the Elections Commission (EC).
This independent state institution was established in 2008 when the first ever multi-party election was held in the Maldives in order to ensure that elections are carried out in an independent, transparent, free and fair manner, outside of any influence – especially from the ruling government officials. While this is the key role of the commission, with the Presidential race just over two months away in the Maldives, it appears that due to the recent actions of the EC, the trust that the commission once used to hold has been lost as people have started to question who exactly the commission members are serving.
According to a statement by one of the founders of The Democrats, Hassan Latheef, a survey that was conducted last year showed that 57 percent of the country does not have trust in the EC - these results are extremely different from a survey that was done in 2013 which showed that 74 percent of the Maldivians had full trust in the then commission. The difference between the numbers today and 10 years ago shows how much things have changed over time.
The Democrats, however, are not the only political party that has come out to blatantly state that they have lost trust in the commission. In addition to The Democrats, five other political parties have come out to state the same. These political parties include the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the People’s National Congress (PNC), the Maldives National Party (MNP) as well as the political parties that are in coalition with the current administration such as the Jumhooree Party (JP) as well as the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM).
During a press conference that was held on 25th June 2023, the six political parties expressed their concerns regarding the actions of the commission with the election coming up in September 2023.
One of these concerns was that even with the deadline for the election so close, the commission has not been working to maintain the trust of the people of the nation. In addition to this, the vice president of PPM Ahmed Shiyam has also stated that while the commission should be moving towards creating this trust, it appears that the commission has been influenced by the Government.
In addition to this, Shiyam also pointed out that even with the election just two months and 14 days away, the National Advisory Committee for the election has failed to hold any meetings.
"The National Advisory Committee is now in the form of a notice board. The Election Commission is only posting announcements to the WhatsApp group set up for the committee," – vice president of PPM Ahmed Shiyam.
Thirdly, the concern surrounding the commission’s decision to push back the registration process of The Democrats was also pointed out, as many believe that this pushback from the commission is a direct impact of the Government’s influence on the commission.
Talking further about the issue of The Democrats, Shiyam stated that the silence of the commission on the misuse of state resources in every single by-election that was held in the past instead of looking into the Government’s actions, especially in terms of creating jobs as well as the housing scheme by the current administration.
The commission has remained silent on the misuse of state resources in every by-election held in the past, he said. The commission should look into the government's actions in the name of job creation and housing.
With such concerns piling up against the commission, which is supposed to act as an independent body that protects the country and its people from rigged elections and misuse of power, the six parties have stated their concerns about the lack of possibility of a fair election this year.
"Now we see the Election Commission members working as government agendas. Especially we have seen this during the formation of The Democrats Party," Kendu Constituency JP Member, Ali Hussain.
