Maldives election body denies ‘secrecy’ accusations

The Elections Commission has been under pressure for months, especially since a ruling party loyalist was appointed its chief. It  has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the re-registration process, the allocation of ballot boxes and how the votes are to be counted.

Its latest denial of vote-rigging follows concerns from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party about voter fraud after leaked documents appear to show the EC will be using tablets to collect information from polling stations on voting day, and about changes to electoral procedures.

“Entering the votes on the tablets gives the EC far greater control over the announcement of the results from each polling station, as well as an opportunity to change the results from each ballot box before they are publicly announced,” the MDP said.