Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) decides to seek legal recourse following numerous serious complaints received by observers, monitors and members of the general public in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election held on September 23.
In a statement, the ruling party stated it wishes to uphold the electoral right of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and running-mate Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed. PPM expressed all complaints have been filtered and examined for the authenticity by its legal experts and the matter have been submitted to the Maldives Police Service (MPS).
In this regard, in the statement, PPM noted the decision to seek legal recourse through the Supreme Court and the High Court was taken in accordance with the response by MPS, highlighting any elections-related investigations can only be undertaken with a court order, in accordance with relevant articles of the Elections Act of Maldives.
Highlighting the party has been overwhelmed with numerous genuine concerns related to the election, including serious allegations of vote rigging, fraud, malpractice and corruption, PPM stated the decision to seek legal recourse was taken by its council to uphold the rights of the party's members and more than 96-thousand members of the general public who voted for the party's candidate.
PPM assured all stakeholders the party will continue to uphold its enshrined values of full adherence to the constitution and the governing laws of the Maldives and contain all its political participation and representation within the ambit of democratic norms and good governance practices, in spite of the monumental challenges it faces.