Supreme Court accepts case regarding Veyvah Council seat

The Supreme Court has accepted an appeal against a High Court ruling that overturned the election of an MDP candidate for the M. Veyvah Council. The High Court's decision had invalidated the initial results and awarded the seat to the PNC candidate.

According to information available on the Supreme Court website, the Registrar has now granted leave to appeal in this case.

In the local council elections held on April 4th, the race for the general seat on the Veyvah Council was contested between MDP candidate Ahsan Naeem and PNC candidate Mohamed Nazeeh. According to the provisional results, Ahsan Naeem initially secured the seat by a two-vote margin, receiving 121 votes to Nazeeh’s 119. However, following a legal challenge filed with the High Court, the court invalidated three of the votes cast for Ahsan. Consequently, the court ruled that the seat now belongs to Nazeeh.

The High Court case centered on the criteria for determining invalid ballots. During the initial count, the Elections Commission (EC) had categorized the three disputed ballot papers as valid. The EC maintained that the marks in question were merely ink blots from the printing process, noting that while voters used blue pens, these marks were black and therefore did not constitute intentional markings. However, the majority of the High Court bench ruled otherwise, determining that the marks were identifying signs that compromised the secrecy of the ballot.

The High Court's ruling on this matter saw a split opinion among the three-member bench. Presiding Judge Mohamed Shaneez Abdulla and Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim ruled in favor of invalidating the three disputed votes. Notably, Judge Abdul Rauf had previously contested for a seat in the People's Majlis on a PNC ticket, though his bid was unsuccessful. In his dissenting opinion, Judge Ibrahim Mahir stated that there were no grounds to alter the election results.

Following the High Court's ruling, Ahsan's vote count dropped to 118, granting the seat to Nazeeh with 119 votes. However, both the MDP and Ahsan Naeem have contested this decision by filing appeals with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has now formally accepted the case filed by Ahsan against the Elections Commission and Nazeeh. It remains unclear whether the court has reached a decision regarding the separate petition submitted by the MDP.

According to reports, the candidate declared by the High Court as the winner of the contested seat did not take the oath of office when the other members of the Veyvah Council were sworn in. Prior to the High Court filing, the Elections Commission had conducted a recount following a complaint lodged with the Compliance Bureau, though the results remained unchanged at that time. With the Supreme Court now accepting the case, the highest court will issue the final verdict regarding the disputed seat on the Veyvah Council.