Meedhoo Voting Dispute: Validating ballots marked twice would undermine the integrity of the electoral system!

The High Court on Monday held a hearing regarding a dispute over the vote count between the People's National Congress (PNC) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) candidates who contested for the presidency of the Dhaal Meedhoo Island Council.

The candidate from the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) has secured the presidency of the Dh. Meedhoo Council following a recount of the island's number two ballot box. The recount, prompted by disputes over the initial vote tallies for the People’s National Congress (PNC) and MDA candidates, resulted in one vote previously credited to the PNC candidate being declared invalid.

Following an investigation into the issues raised at the time, the official results for the Meedhoo constituency have been released. The final tally shows PNC candidate Suha Ibrahim receiving 391 votes, while MDA candidate Mohamed Shahid secured 392 votes. Consequently, the MDA candidate has been declared the winner of the election.

Following the invalidation of one of Suha's votes, her total count has decreased to 391. The vote was declared void upon recount because the ballot paper contained two checkmarks.

However, Suha’s legal team contends that the ballot must be recognized as a valid vote in her favor. Her lawyer argued that since the law stipulates voters must mark their choice next to the candidate’s name, and the mark on this specific ballot was placed clearly beside her name, it should be counted. Furthermore, her representatives noted that declaring the vote invalid constitutes an infringement of fundamental electoral rights.

Consequently, he has requested the court to either annul the election results and order a fresh vote, or to declare the ballots in the 15th and 17th bundles—which were previously invalidated—as legitimate votes.

However, The MDA candidate's legal representative argued that the law explicitly refers to a "mark," implying a single mark. The lawyer further contended that validating such a ballot would undermine the integrity of the electoral system.

The Elections Commission also highlighted this matter. Citing relevant laws, the Commission further provided responses to the questions posed by the judges.

The Elections Commission's (EC) legal counsel stated that although it was claimed the two marks on the ballot paper were made in error, there is no way to verify if this was indeed an accidental mistake. The counsel further clarified that even if the marks were made unintentionally, the ballot would still be deemed invalid under such circumstances. Furthermore, the lawyer emphasized that placing additional marks or symbols on a ballot paper compromises the integrity of the secret ballot process.

The High Court bench presiding over this case consists of Judge Ismail Shafeeu, Chief Judge Abdulla Jameel Moosa, and Judge Hassan Shafeeu.

Notably, the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) had previously filed a complaint with the commission's Complaints Bureau, alleging that an ineligible individual had cast a ballot in the box stationed at L. Fonadhoo. Following this submission, the vote in question, which had been cast for the PNC candidate, was declared invalid.

The inauguration ceremony for this constituency is scheduled to take place on the 17th of this month. The judges have indicated that a ruling on this matter will be delivered by the 11th or 12th of this month.