PNC candidate declared winner in Veyvah after 3 votes voided

The High Court ruled on Wednesday that three ballot papers cast in the M. Veyvah Council election were invalid due to identifying marks found on them, changing the outcome of the race.

The disputed ballots had initially been counted in favour of Ahusan Naeem of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Before the ruling, the official results were:

The case was filed by Mohamed Nazeeh of the People's National Congress (PNC) after the Elections Commission conducted a recount and upheld the original result.

In its judgment, the High Court ruled that marks in the form of dots on the three ballot papers were sufficient to invalidate the votes.

Following the decision, the revised result stands as:

The case was heard by a three-judge bench.

Judges Mohamed Shaneez Abdulla and Abdul Rauf Ibrahim formed the majority opinion, stating that the marks on the ballots were visible enough to potentially compromise the secrecy of the vote.

Judge Ibrahim Mahir issued a dissenting opinion, stating that the marks appeared to be accidental ink splatters made during the voting process.

According to the dissenting judgment, the marks did not amount to a deliberate attempt to identify the voter or breach ballot secrecy.