Maldives court sacks election officials
The Maldives Supreme Court has dismissed the country's top elections officials for failing to follow its guidelines during last year's presidential polls and for disbanding eight political parties ahead of elections this month.
The court on Sunday ordered the head of the commission, Fuwad Thowfeek, and his deputy, Ahmed Fayaz, removed from their posts and asked the parliament to appoint replacements within six days. Thowfeek received a six-month jail sentence, suspended for three years.
The election commission came under the seven-member court's scrutiny last year when it went ahead with a presidential run-off after three previous attempts were annulled or postponed by the court.
Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president who was ousted in February 2012, narrowly lost a November 16 run-off to Abdulla Yameen. Nasheed's opposition coalition is challenging Yameen's ruling coalition in a March 22 poll.
Last month the election commission disbanded eight political parties with less than 3,000 members in line with a parliamentary act passed last year, despite the Supreme Court asking it not to go forward with the move.
The court, which tried the two men and other members of the commission last month, said it had determined that Thowfeek and Fayaz must bear responsibility for "disobeying and challenging" Supreme Court judgments.
Nasheed, while campaigning in Haa Alif Dhidhoo island, criticised the Supreme Court's judgments and called on Maldivians to "gain courage from each other, come out and protest".
Eduard Kukan, chief observer of the European Union's election observation mission to the Maldives, said the Thowfeek-led commission played an important role in ensuring transparent and credible electoral processes.
