Opposition lawyer, Hisaan Hussain, has criticized incumbent President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s case to nullify the presidential election results, stating that the case was not backed by factual evidence and that only ‘a flying prayer-mat’ was missing from the base of accusations.
Hisaan stated that none of the arguments made by the president about the alleged election rigging, provide sufficient evidence to warrant the nullification of the presidential election.
According to Hisaan, the incumbent president filed the case because he could not accept his defeat to opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on September 23.
Hisaan stated that the ruling party's claims of objects such as erasable pens, special rings and self-erasing paper being used to rig votes are so outlandish that the case might as well mention a ‘flying prayer-mat’.
Abbas Shareef, a member of the incumbent president’s legal team, rebutted Hisaan, questioning whether the claims were unreliable simply because they were put forth by the government. Abbas highlighted the fact that the opposition made similar claims prior to the election and that the Elections Commission (EC) also issued a press release regarding the erasable pens.
The Supreme Court granted the opposition coalition permission to intervene in the case which is presided by a full bench of judges including Dr Mohamed Abdulla Didi.
The trial commenced this Sunday and the court ended the final hearing on Tuesday, the verdict still pending.
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