Male, Sep 25 (IANS) Maldives President Mohamed Waheed Wednesday asked the international community to stop interfering in the ongoing Supreme Court case over the results of the first round of presidential poll held Sep 7.
In a statement Wednesday, President Waheed said the Maldives was capable of managing the dispute over the conduct of the first round of the election and said that the case should be taken in its proper context.
“The Maldives is capable of managing the dispute over the conduct of the first round of presidential election,” the president said.
“The Maldives is a nascent democracy. Still, our statutory institutions, including the judiciary, have shown that they are capable of making sound and impartial decisions on some of the most complex issues of national importance,” he added.
Waheed said that it was important that the case currently being deliberated at the supreme court on the conduct of the first round of the presidential election, held Sep 7, is taken in its proper context.
“I, therefore, call on the foreign governments, the UN, and the Commonwealth to show responsibility and to refrain from issuing statements commenting on, and speculating about, the on-going court case,” Waheed said.
“Irresponsible statements by foreign governments and international organisations would not be helpful in consolidating democracy in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Maldives Election Commission Wednesday said it has not stopped preparations for the second round of presidential poll scheduled for Sep 28, according to media reports.
“We have not stopped any of our preparations,” the Minivan News quoted Fuwad Thowfeek, president of the Election Commission, as saying.
“The main document we must follow is the constitution. The constitution, along with the election laws and regulations, states how and when to hold elections,” Thaweek added.
Ahmed Fayaz, vice president of the commission, said the panel was in discussions with the Supreme Court, the Majlis, and the President’s Office on a polling date.
“We may receive an order to proceed with polls, we cannot throw up our hands and go to sleep. We have to be ready at any point,” Fayaz added.
The Election Commission also warned that the electoral process has to be started from the beginning if the second round of the poll was not held as scheduled Saturday, the Haveeru online reported.
The Maldives Supreme Court Monday issued an order postponing the second round of the poll until it issued a verdict.
The ruling came in the wake of tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s plea that the first round of voting, which took place Sep 7, be cancelled because of vote rigging allegations.
Earlier, in the first round, Abdulla Yameen, the half-brother of former Maldives president Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, was placed second with 25.7 percent votes, marginally ahead of business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, who received 24.1 percent of the votes.