HRCM expresses concern over provisions of Election Act

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has expressed concerns over some of provisions of the recently ratified Election Act.

HRCM has expressed the commission is deeply concerned over clause (a) of article 5 of the General Election Rules which bars convicted criminals serving time in jail for periods in excess of 5 years from voting. Further the commission has expressed over the short time allocated for the voter registration. The Commission expressed that it fears that short time period may affect the voter turnout on the Election Day and has called on employers to facilitate easy and convenient mechanisms for their employees to vote.

HRCM also welcomed the Election Commission to allow Maldivian Diasporas to vote and noted that forthcoming election will be historical as it will be the first time in the country’s history Diasporas as well as criminals serving time is allowed to vote.

HRCM also revealed that during the draft stage of the General Election Rules and the Presidential Election Bill , the commission has urged and encouraged Legal Reform Ministry ,to draft the regulations and the bill to reflect clause (a) of article 26 of the constitution which guarantees every Maldivian citizen over 18 years of age the right to vote. The commission also stated that it had encouraged Legal reform ministry to include Maldivian communities living abroad to vote in the elections.

However HRCM has pointed out that while Maldivian Diasporas living in India, Sri Lanka , Malaysia and Singapore are given the opportunity to vote, Diasporas in United Kingdom has not been granted the same privilege. The commission said this was regrettable and sad as UK has a Maldivian Mission and an accredited Ambassador.

Further the Human Rights Commission highlighted the hard work of the Election Commission to complete election formalities in time for the Election Day and called on all concerned agencies to extend the election necessary support in its efforts to make the election as smooth as possible.

Reader Comments

Post a comment

 characters available



The opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and commenters and do not necessarily represent the views of Miadhu News Daily. We do not take responsibility for the opinions, facts, or claims presented by individual authors or commenters, and reserve the right to moderate or delete inappropriate comments.

Miadhu Opinion Poll
  • Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.