The Supreme Court of the Maldives ended a marathon hearing on the rejection of the candidacy of former President Abdulla Yameen by the Elections Commission of the Maldives on Friday.
A ruling of the Supreme Court on the case is expected sometime today if no additional points are raised by parties taking part in the proceeding.
The lawsuit filed by President Yameen at the Supreme Court against the Elections Commission of the Maldives was based on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of a presidential candidate.
The hours-long hearing that started on Friday afternoon ended at midnight. The Supreme Court granted the presence of representatives from the Attorney General's Office and the main opposition PPM at the hearing.
The case was heard by a bench of the court with all seven justices of the Supreme Court. The hearing mainly focused on two obstacles that led to the rejection of President Yameen’s candidacy by the Elections Commission. A prison sentence that was longer than twelve months which President Yameen was serving and an unpaid debt were two main reasons the Elections Commission decided to reject the candidacy last week.
Yameen’s attorneys argued that the context of the clause of the law on elections could not be applied in rejecting his candidacy as he has not so far been given the opportunity to exhaust all the appellate levels of the justice system on the eleven-year prison sentence which he is presently serving at Maafushi Penitentiary.
The Criminal Court sentenced President Yameen to serve the above eleven-year prison sentence when the court had found him guilty of money laundering in the lease of the state-owned island Aarah. In the sentence, the court also ordered President Yameen to pay a fine of US$ 5 million.
President Yameen argued that the fine could not be defined as a debt that the court had ordered him to pay. He said that the first money laundering case where he was found guilty was the lawsuit on the lease of the state-owned Vodamula island. In the case, he argued that it was Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) that had asked him to pay the fine. President Yameen said that the lower court’s decision in relation to the fine of Vodamula island is presently filed at the High Court of the Maldives.
President Yameen told the seven-member bench that the main reason for him filing the case on the rejection of his candidacy was that justice has been delayed for him. He said that he had appealed the eleven-year prison sentence which he is serving at the High Court to secure his freedom before the deadline for submitting his candidacy arrived. However, the court so far has not ended the hearings.
The attorney that represented the Attorney General’s Office told the bench that the clause on serving a criminal sentence stated in the law needed no more interpretations. The attorney argued that if anyone serving a criminal sentence that is longer than a year is allowed by the Supreme Court to run in an election, the ruling would be considered a legal precedent that will pave the way for criminals to contest in elections.
On ‘the court-ordered debt’ that played a part in the rejection of President Yameen’s candidacy, attorneys from both the Attorney General’s Office and the Elections Commission argued that if the fine which was related to the Aarah ruling by the lower court was not paid up to the point of the submission of the candidacy documents that would be deemed an unpaid debt.
PPM mainly argued that if the Supreme Court rules against President Yameen, the electoral rights of thousands of members of the party would negatively be affected. PPM asked the bench to consider allowing the party to nominate another candidate if the court’s ruling blocks President Yameen from running in the September 9 election.
The bench mainly asked questions on the interpretations of the qualities that the Constitution requires every candidate to possess when contesting in elections.
Ending the hearing at midnight (12:00 AM), the Chair of the bench, Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan declared that if there were no more inquiries the next move of the court would be to issue a ruling on the lawsuit.
This is the first time in the electoral history of the Maldives that a criminal who is serving a prison sentence has attempted to run for president.
A ruling of the Supreme Court on the case is expected sometime today if no additional points are raised by parties taking part in the proceeding.
The lawsuit filed by President Yameen at the Supreme Court against the Elections Commission of the Maldives was based on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of a presidential candidate.
The hours-long hearing that started on Friday afternoon ended at midnight. The Supreme Court granted the presence of representatives from the Attorney General's Office and the main opposition PPM at the hearing.
The case was heard by a bench of the court with all seven justices of the Supreme Court. The hearing mainly focused on two obstacles that led to the rejection of President Yameen’s candidacy by the Elections Commission. A prison sentence that was longer than twelve months which President Yameen was serving and an unpaid debt were two main reasons the Elections Commission decided to reject the candidacy last week.
Yameen’s attorneys argued that the context of the clause of the law on elections could not be applied in rejecting his candidacy as he has not so far been given the opportunity to exhaust all the appellate levels of the justice system on the eleven-year prison sentence which he is presently serving at Maafushi Penitentiary.
The Criminal Court sentenced President Yameen to serve the above eleven-year prison sentence when the court had found him guilty of money laundering in the lease of the state-owned island Aarah. In the sentence, the court also ordered President Yameen to pay a fine of US$ 5 million.
President Yameen argued that the fine could not be defined as a debt that the court had ordered him to pay. He said that the first money laundering case where he was found guilty was the lawsuit on the lease of the state-owned Vodamula island. In the case, he argued that it was Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) that had asked him to pay the fine. President Yameen said that the lower court’s decision in relation to the fine of Vodamula island is presently filed at the High Court of the Maldives.
President Yameen told the seven-member bench that the main reason for him filing the case on the rejection of his candidacy was that justice has been delayed for him. He said that he had appealed the eleven-year prison sentence which he is serving at the High Court to secure his freedom before the deadline for submitting his candidacy arrived. However, the court so far has not ended the hearings.
The attorney that represented the Attorney General’s Office told the bench that the clause on serving a criminal sentence stated in the law needed no more interpretations. The attorney argued that if anyone serving a criminal sentence that is longer than a year is allowed by the Supreme Court to run in an election, the ruling would be considered a legal precedent that will pave the way for criminals to contest in elections.
On ‘the court-ordered debt’ that played a part in the rejection of President Yameen’s candidacy, attorneys from both the Attorney General’s Office and the Elections Commission argued that if the fine which was related to the Aarah ruling by the lower court was not paid up to the point of the submission of the candidacy documents that would be deemed an unpaid debt.
PPM mainly argued that if the Supreme Court rules against President Yameen, the electoral rights of thousands of members of the party would negatively be affected. PPM asked the bench to consider allowing the party to nominate another candidate if the court’s ruling blocks President Yameen from running in the September 9 election.
The bench mainly asked questions on the interpretations of the qualities that the Constitution requires every candidate to possess when contesting in elections.
Ending the hearing at midnight (12:00 AM), the Chair of the bench, Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan declared that if there were no more inquiries the next move of the court would be to issue a ruling on the lawsuit.
This is the first time in the electoral history of the Maldives that a criminal who is serving a prison sentence has attempted to run for president.
