Rejecting valid ballots ‘is a crime’ and polling station officials found responsible will be penalized, says Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) chief Ahmed Shareef.

Shareef said this in a tweet on Monday, following a recount for at least two constituencies, with one recount resulting in a difference of over 100 votes.

Shareef’s tweet translates to, ‘Rejecting ballots that are clearly valid is a crime, and the commission will pursue legal action against the official responsible for it, let this be a point of wisdom for all’.

While the ECM has not identified the polling station or the official responsible, a recent amendment to the General Elections Act foreshadowed an increase in invalid ballots.

The amendment, stipulating that a ballot will be rejected if any unnecessary markings are made on it, was passed by the People’s Majlis on March 4^th, and ratified on 12^th March.

ECM only accepted ballots that clearly signify a vote for a single candidate by checkmark.

The significant difference after recount has resulted in some dispute over the validity of the election outcome, although Shareef says any 'questions about the validity of the election, will be answered'. 

Saturday’s parliamentary election has been lauded by international observers, who unanimously agreed that administrative preparations were well made, with the Commonwealth Election Observers team saying they were ‘impressed’ by the voting process.

ECM says they received just 21 complaints regarding the parliamentary election, 15 of which has to do with the voter’s registry.