Elections Commission affirms resolving internal conflicts

The Elections Commission (EC) has announced that its members have successfully resolved all internal conflicts and are now committed to working together for the upcoming presidential election on September 9.

Disagreements among commission members emerged following comments made by Elections Commission President Fuad Thaufeeq. As a result, some members initiated a no-confidence motion against him, prompting Fuad to temporarily delegate the commission's responsibilities to EC Vice President Ismail Habeeb.

This was confirmed by Habeeb during a press conference held on Sunday, August 13.

"During the presence of the Secretary General, members discussed the issues, resolved our disputes, and agreed to continue the commission's work," Habeeb said. "The commission no longer has any issues. All meetings are proceeding as scheduled."

Members of the commission, Dr. Mohamed Zahir, Mohamed Asif, and Ali Nashath, who recently concluded his term at the EC, had a falling out with Fuad. They claimed that the EC Chief had tarnished their reputations during the formation of Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed-led The Democrats party, and had refused to attend meetings chaired or in the presence of Fuad.

Fuad chose to delegate the management of the EC to Habeeb to ensure that the commission's work would not be interrupted.

Habeeb said that after the members, including Fuad, resolved their differences, he had been attending the commission's meetings until last week. He is currently on leave and will resume attending EC's meetings once he resumes work, Habeeb said.

Habeeb also emphasized that no member should make personal statements about the remaining members of the commission, and such actions should not be allowed to happen again. He added that the voting decisions of the members should also not be made public.

"If such matters are publicized, it will create tension, but with God's will, we are working diligently for the presidential election," Habeeb said.

Commission member Dr. Zahir clarified that their no-confidence vote against Fuad was not intended to remove him as President.

“It was never about removing him as president or chair,” Dr. Zahir said.

Though the law permits the election of both the President and Vice President to the commission, it does not allow the members to remove them. The discretion to remove EC members over no-confidence or misconduct lies with the parliament, due to which his no-confidence within the commission did not result in Fuad losing his position.