High Court rejects petition seeking recount of Central Hulhumale' constituency votes
The High Court has rejected the MDP's petition for a recount of the Central Hulhumale' constituency votes, citing the party's failure to demonstrate how the Elections Commission's initial decision violated the law. The seat was narrowly won by the PNC candidate with a slim 11-vote margin over the MDP contender; furthermore, the High Court Registrar has also declined to accept several other election-related complaints submitted by the party.
A photograph taken from outside the High Court. | High Court
The High Court of the Maldives has decided to reject a case filed by the main opposition party, MDP, seeking a court order for a recount of votes for the Central Hulhumale' constituency in the recent local council elections.
This seat is one of the two seats secured by the PNC in the Male' City Council.
According to the council election results, PNC candidate Ahmed Saneeh Hanif secured the seat with 916 votes. His opponent, MDP candidate Safath Ahmed Zahir, received 905 votes. Consequently, the margin between the two candidates remains exceptionally slim.
In the electoral complaint filed with the High Court, the MDP alleged that an invalid ballot was counted as valid during the tallying process for a specific ballot box in the constituency. The party further contended that, given the narrow margin between the two candidates, a recount could potentially alter the final outcome of the election.
However, the High Court Registrar has decided not to accept the case, citing the MDP's failure to provide sufficient grounds to challenge the Elections Commission's decision against a recount of the ballot papers.
The MDP has filed several other cases in court as well. However, the court has declined to accept those cases as well.
Among the complaints filed were allegations that valid ballots were wrongfully invalidated during the counting process in violation of the Elections Act. The MDP also submitted grievances regarding discrepancies in total vote counts resulting from these invalidations. Furthermore, concerns were raised regarding instances where two ballot boxes were counted together, making it impossible to determine the exact number of votes received by individual candidates and leading to disputes over the final figures.
The High Court Registrar's ruling stated that the cases filed by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) could not be accepted as election-related disputes. The decision noted that the party failed to specify how the Elections Commission’s response to their initial complaints violated the law. Consequently, citing Section 64 of Law No. 11/2008 (the General Elections Act), the court informed the party that the cases do not meet the legal requirements for admission.
