Elections may be called off

Olivia Lang and Zaheena Rasheed

Members of the Maldives Election Commission may call of the country’s first multiparty elections amid voter complaints over registration, voter lists and vanishing indelible ink.

The commission has met for an emergency meeting as voting difficulties continue in Wednesday’s elections, an official from the elections commission confirmed.

Around 300 protesters are now outside Nasandhura Palace, the central counting base, leading to an estimated ten or more riot police deployed in the area.

An elections commission official, who did not want to be named, told Minivan News there were four main problems which could threaten Wednesday’s polls.

The ink used to mark voters’ fingers to prevent double voting can be washed off, according to citizens who have complained to the commission and observers. Secondly, a number of residents with registration cards have found they are not on the voter list, although it is difficult to estimate how many are having this problem.

Some islands have not received the voter list, according to the same official. And a proportion of people who have recently applied for identification cards did not receive them on time, he added.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) says he does not want it called off, saying they are “only slight problems.”

“The election commission is thinking of nullifying it. [But] you cannot nullify it based on one candidate’s complaint,” he told Minivan News. “We are working to extend the deadline so everyone can vote…Some people have an interest in nullifying it,” he added.

It is not yet clear whether President Gayoom has requested the vote be called off.

Independent candidate Hassan Saeed said he was “still consulting” colleagues about it and had not yet made a decision.

Chairperson of the MDP Mariya Ahmed Didi found she was not on the voting list and has expressed concern that MDP supporters were being turned away.

Meanwhile, others have found they are not on the list despite being on the one of the elections commission website, suggesting there are two different lists being used.

Polls opened at 9am on Wednesday.