EC announces by-election to replace dismissed Thulhaadhoo councillor
07 Jul 2011, 6:35 PM
The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is preparing to mount a legal challenge to the dismissal of Thulhaadhoo Councillor Umaira Abubakur after the Elections Commission (EC) yesterday announced a by-election for August 20 to replace the party’s sole representative on the five-member island council.
The DRP contend that four councillors of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) conducted emergency meetings while Umaira was attending a workshop as part of “a planned effort” to remove her from the post.
Article 119(b) of the Decentralisation Act states that a councillor can be removed if he or she misses seven consecutive meetings “without offering a valid reason that is acceptable to the council.” Umaira did not attend ten meetings which took place while she was ostensibly participating in a workshop in Bandos Island Resort.
Speaking to Minivan News today, DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef lambasted both the MDP-majority Thulhaadhoo council for “abusing the law to silence a minority voice” and the EC for “failing to carry out their responsibility.”
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