The Supreme Court has ruled that the upcoming referendum vote on whether to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day cannot be stopped.
The vote, scheduled for Saturday alongside local council elections, will determine whether a constitutional amendment allowing the two elections to be held on the same day is approved.
The case was filed by lawyer Aik Ahmed Eesa and lawyer Ibrahim Shiyam, who sought to stop the vote, arguing that the question posed in the referendum is unconstitutional.
Delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed said there is no specific provision in the Constitution or existing laws regulating the content of questions on a ballot. The five judge bench ruled that the question cannot be considered unconstitutional, and therefore, the vote cannot be stopped.
The Supreme Court bench included Chief Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed (presiding), Judge Ali Rasheed, Judge Dr Mohamed Ibrahim, Judge Hussain Shaheed and Judge Abdulla Hameed.
While the Supreme Court made this ruling, MDP had previously filed cases in the Civil Court and High Court seeking to stop the referendum vote; however, those cases were not accepted.
