EC must ensure voting rights to all resort employees: Transparency Maldives

Transparency Maldives (TM) has called on the Elections Commission to immediately revoke the decision to place polling stations in just seven out of the 132 resorts in the Maldives in order to “ensure the right to vote” for all eligible voters employed at resorts.

In a press statement released on their website, Transparency Maldives announced that they are “deeply concerned following the Elections Commission’s decision to place ballot boxes in only seven of the 132 resorts”.

Their statement further reads that this decision will bring undesirable distress to “the suffrage of a vast majority of resort workers in the absence of alternative measures”. TM asserted that the commission must refrain from making decisions that bring doubt to voters, going on to say that the EC must immediately reconsider their decision.

TM in a tweet posted on Monday, wrote that 14% of employed citizens in the nation is employed in approximately 120 resorts. According to their statement, consistent with “the last census, 27,837 Maldivians work at resorts”. While polling stations were placed in 56 resorts in the Presidential Election of 2013, this year, the EC had announced that they would place ballot boxes in just seven resorts.

TM said that this is “a step backwards that derogates the right to vote of thousands of employees working in the tourism industry”. They further stated that the challenge to the right to vote due to EC’s decision is “yet another regressive move that infringes on the credibility, inclusiveness and confidence in electoral processes as well as the Elections Commission”.

TM concludes their statement by urging the commission to “immediately revoke this decision and ensure the right to vote of all resort employees”.

Following EC’s decision to place a limited amount of polling stations in resorts for the approaching elections, the opposition coalition along with former attorney generals and several top politicians have expressed concern over the repression of voting rights for eligible voters. Some have added that this could affect the industry workflow since resort staff would need to travel to the nearest island or resort in which a ballot box has been placed in order to cast their votes.

While the first round of the September ballots is slated for the 23rd, if required, a second round has also been slated for October.

Elections Commission had defended it’s decision to place polling stations in just seven resorts, stating that this was due to the difficulties faced in some resorts during the Presidential Election of 2013. The Commission had maintained that resort workers are not expected to face hindrances in casting their votes despite the immense reduction of polling stations in resorts for this year’s election.