Transparency Maldives has pointed out the lack of uniform operational conduct across the ballot stations during the first round of the presidential election held on Saturday, September 9.
During the press conference held on Sunday, September 10, to highlight the issues they observed and provide recommendations for the second round, the agency’s Communication and Advocacy Manager Sara Naseem said that the standard operational procedure across the ballot stations had been in disarray.
She highlighted that this inconsistency in operational conduct across the polling stations resulted in a compromise in the secrecy of the ballot. The organization noted that although the layouts of the polling stations were generally similar, the protocols varied based on the size of the station.
Because of the smaller size of some polling stations, voters were standing near one another while elections monitors, observers and the representatives of candidates were able to easily view the decisions made by voters at the ballot box, Sara said.
Transparency Maldives emphasized the recurring issue of the abuse of state assets for campaigning efforts by the ruling parties in previous elections. The organization called for an amendment of the laws to prohibit such practices in the future.
“There are no statutory provisions to separate official responsibilities from campaign activities during elections. This allows the ruling party to exploit campaign efforts and gain undue advantage over their opponents,” Sara added.
The agency also highlighted revisions made to the scale and scope of socio-economic developmental projects in contradiction to the national developmental strategies and plans.
“This indicates the lack of equal opportunities for the candidates to campaign,” Sara said.
Transparency also pointed to the misuse of government powers through state-owned enterprises (SOEs) ahead of the election. The agency said that the current political environment could lead to the establishment of a clientelism system, in which interest groups benefit at the expense of the public.
The agency urged Elections Commission (EC) to provide a permanent solution to foster public trust towards a secret ballot.
- Expedite appointment of the member to the vacant position of the Elections Commission (EC) executive committee to improve the commission’s operations
- Provide relevant training and instructions to all the officials of the commission before the second round of election to facilitate uniform operational protocol across all polling stations
- Revise the layout of polling stations to ensure secrecy of the ballot
- Choose alternative venues for smaller polling stations that compromise the secrecy of the ballot
- Ensure elections observers and monitors do not take photographs or videos while voters cast their ballot
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