Joint Press Release

Both organizations are especially alarmed by the conduct of the Maldivian Supreme Court. The unjustifiable delay and judicially forceful suspension of the second round of the election, due on 28 September, indicates an infringement of the judiciary over the powers of the Elections Commission, an independent constitutional body answerable to the Parliament of the Maldives. This was demonstrated yesterday through the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the first round of elections over some materially baseless arguments raised in the court.

“We are dismayed by yesterday’s decision of the Maldivian Supreme Court to annul the first round of elections, which had been applauded as a success by the international community. Maldivian authorities must swiftly bring the electoral process to an end, in a free and fair manner” , said Karim Lahidji, FIDH president.

“We call upon the Supreme Court and the judiciary to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and the democratic will of Maldivian people, at all times. The elections must absolutely take place as soon as possible, given the arbitrary and unconstitutional deadline set by the Supreme Court, which ruled yesterday that the current government would remain in place should the elections not be held by early November” , added Shahindha Ismail, Executive Director of MDN.

MDN and FIDH also strongly condemn the arrest of peaceful protesters since September 7, politically-motivated ruling to unseat several parliamentarians of the Maldivian Democracy Party (MDP), the opposition party, and also the arson attack against pro-MDP Raajje TV yesterday. Both organizations call on Maldivian authorities to responsibly investigate this heinous crime and bring to justice the perpetrators. This attack on media follows government threats to NGOs monitoring the election process.