Supreme Court is subverting democratic process: Pillay

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay has said that the Supreme Court of the Maldives is subverting the democratic process in the country.

In a statement issued by the UN Human Rights Council, Pillay expressed concern about the Supreme Court’s repeated interventions in the presidential election process.

“I am alarmed that the Supreme Court of the Maldives is interfering excessively in the Presidential elections, and in so doing is subverting the democratic process and violating the right of Maldivians to freely elect their representatives,” Pillay said.

She further said that the court has imposed an onerous set of guidelines on the Elections Commission for the conduct of the election, which will be difficult to satisfy, and that it was on this basis that police prevented the Elections Commission from carrying out its plan to re-run the election on 19 October 2013.

“The Supreme Court appears set on undermining other independent institutions, stifling criticism and public debate, and depriving litigants of the legal representation of their choice,” Pillay said.

She called on the individual who wins the election to embark on fundamental reforms to the judiciary to safeguard Maldives' progress in democracy and rule of law.