Police request details of accusations in parliament statement

Maldives Police Service has requested the parliament to provide details of the claims in their recent statement, that the police obstructed the efforts by the Elections Commission (EC) to hold the presidential election last Saturday.

In a statement issued last Saturday, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid said that the police acted in violation of the Constitution and the law, and condemned these activities.

Head of Police Professional Standards Directorate, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ali Rasheed sent a letter to Abdulla Shahid today, asking to provide details of the accusations made against the police in the statement.

The letter states that the police made efforts to protect the rights of all eligible voters, as requested by relevant state institutions, and in accordance with the Constitution, Supreme Court guideline, and the law.

The police said in the letter that if the election had been held in violation of the Supreme Court order, the rights of several citizens would have been lost - which would have led to internal conflict, which in turn would have made it impossible to maintain security during the election.

The police said that they had prepared to the best of their capabilities to maintain security during the election. Providing details in this regard, the police said that police officers were deployed to the atolls on Friday, police officers were sent abroad as per the advice of the Elections Commission, and several police officers were appointed to coordinate the transport of voters’ lists and ballot papers to the atolls by air.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has said that the claim that the police halted the presidential election is under investigation by the Police Professional Standard Command.

Riyaz and Assistant Commissioner Ahmed Saudi were summoned to Parliament Committee on Security services for questioning regarding this matter.

Speaking at the committee, Riyaz said, “I understood from the statement issued by the parliament, that the parliament has made its decision. I am sad that it states specifically that activities were conducted following illegal orders issued by a group of police officers. As far as I know, 241 Committee is just starting to look into this matter. I understand from the statement that the parliament has made decisions before the matter is investigated. That’s very sad.”