Transparency Maldives calls to uphold the will of the people and facilitate a peaceful transfer of power

Local anti-corruption NGO Transparency Maldives has on Sunday called on all parties to uphold the will of the people and facilitate a peaceful transfer of power.

Transparency revealed this on a statement released on the organization’s website, which reads that the organization expresses concern regarding the motion to “annul the outcome” of the 2018 Presidential Election submitted by the outgoing President Abdulla Yameen to the Supreme Court in early October.

While the organization had conducted a nation-wide domestic election observation of the election, they had also noted their pre-assessments of the election and that while its environment was ‘systematically set-up to favor the incumbent’ President and ruling party, the issues observed on the day of the election itself were ‘not serious enough to impact the outcome’ of the election.

Noting that all political parties, including the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) as well as the joint opposition have accepted the final results, Transparency called on all parties to uphold the will of the people, just as they had in the first round of the Presidential polls held in 2013.

While Transparency has issued this statement, outgoing President Yameen had filed a constitutional case at the Supreme Court, which the court is to hold the Elections Commission answerable at a trial which is to commence on Saturday afternoon.