6 opposition parties say lost confidence in EC ahead of election

Six opposition political parties joined forces on Sunday to express their lack of confidence in the Elections Commission (EC).

Six political parties held a press conference at the Mindset Conference Hall on Sunday to express their lack of confidence in the September 9 presidential election and the Elections Commission. The parties that attended the conference were:

Hassan, the founder of The Democrats, was the first to speak about the concerns regarding EC. He said the parties are concerned about:

Hassan said that a free election can be ensured by the way the EC acts leading up to the election, not just on the polling day. 

“There are so many things around it and with the days around it, unless it happens freely and fairly, the people cannot believe that it is a free and fair election,” Hassan said.

Shiyam said the people should be able to maintain their confidence in the elections throughout the process. However, two months onto the election, he said, people are very disappointed.

Regarding the National Advisory Committee on the election, Shiyam said the committee has not held any meeting despite the concerns of the parties.

"The National Advisory Committee is almost in the form of a notice board. We are now seeing the announcements made by the Elections Commission in the WhatsApp group dedicated to the committee," he said.

Noting that the commission is the parent body of political parties, Shiyam said it is preventing the formation of The Democrats. He said the commission was acting in violation of laws and regulations, which was also a major concern.

Noting that free and fair elections is the right of every citizen, Usham said he did not believe that the EC was fulfilling that responsibility. He said the commission has not taken any action against the government despite the government influencing various state agencies and institutions.

"It is not only during the polling hours that things have to be settled. Before that, we have to have freedom of the media and we believe that the media should have equal opportunities when observing the elections," Usham said.

Although the EC is accountable to the parliament's independent institutions committee, it has been summoned to parliament twice in the past year, he said.

Usham, who also sits on the committee, said independent institutions are not being held adequately accountable in parliament as the parliament is controlled by the government.

Ali Hussain also said that the parliament is not doing enough to hold the EC accountable. He said the EC is not fulfilling its responsibilities because it knows that the government will not hold the commission accountable with a majority in parliament.

“The Elections Commission is not doing enough to hold independent institutions accountable because the political situation is such that a party has majority and it cannot do enough to hold independent institutions accountable,” he said.

Noting that, Ali Hussain said the commission had not taken any action even when the government was trying to influence the outcome of some of the recent by-elections.

Zabeeh's speech highlighted the EC's decision to dissolve the MRM. He said the Elections Commission had decided to dissolve the party in violation of the laws under the influence of some members of the commission.

"The institution, the EC, is a good place in itself. The dignity and reputation of an institution is being lost because of the people appointed there," Zabeeh, who was sacked last week, said.