MDP retains Veyvah council seat after Supreme Court decision
On Wednesday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court unanimously set aside the High Court's judgment and ruled that the ballots should remain valid.
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The Supreme Court has overturned a High Court ruling that invalidated three ballot papers cast in the M. Veyvah Council election, restoring the original result and confirming the election of MDP candidate Ahsan Naeem.
The disputed ballots were cast in favour of Ahsan and became the subject of a legal challenge after small marks were found on the papers.
Under the original election result, Ahsan secured 121 votes, while PNC candidate Mohamed Nazeeh received 119 votes.
Following a case filed at the High Court, the three ballots were declared invalid. The revised count reduced Ahsan's total to 118 votes, placing Nazeeh ahead with 119 votes.
Ahsan appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court unanimously set aside the High Court's judgment and ruled that the ballots should remain valid.
In its ruling, the court noted that only blue-ink pens are permitted inside polling stations. While the marks in question appeared in black ink, there had been no complaints or evidence suggesting that anyone had brought a black pen into the polling station.
The court also noted that the photographs relied upon by the High Court had been taken during a recount and that there was no verification confirming that the images accurately reflected the condition of the original ballot papers.
Nazeeh's legal team argued that the marks had been intentionally placed to identify the ballots. However, the Supreme Court found that sufficient evidence had not been presented to support that claim.
The court further stated that invalidating ballot papers solely because of minor marks or dots could have wider implications for future elections and could affect confidence in the electoral process.
With the ruling, the three disputed ballots have been reinstated, restoring the original vote count and confirming Ahsan as the elected member of the M. Veyvah Council.
The case was heard by a bench comprising Justice Abdulla Hameed, Justice Husnu Al Suood and Justice Ali Shameem.
