Finance Ministry dodges responsibility for Saturday

Minister of Finance Abdulla Jihad has said that the Finance Ministry will not be responsible for the Elections Commission’s expenses related to holding the second round of the presidential election on Saturday, 28 September, after the Supreme Court issued an order to postpone the election.

Jihad told Sun Online that the ministry will not be responsible for expenses that violate a court order.

“We will not be responsible for money spent after the Supreme Court issued its order. Elections Commission officials should be aware that that money cannot be spent,” he said.

He said that the ministry will not provide money to the Elections Commission for its expenses related to the election after the court order.

“If we have to provide money for those expenses - that will be decided by the court. An investigation will decide who should take responsibility for those expenses. We will obtain legal advice on this,” he said.

Jihad said that even though the ministry will not provide money for election-related expenses, employee salaries and allowances will be paid.

The Elections Commission has estimated the cost of holding the second round of the presidential election to be at around MVR 27 million.