Week in review: September 22-26

Government aligned MPs created chaos during the ill-tempered sitting, which passed a resolution calling for state institutions to ensure the poll proceeds – with a show of hands.

Later the same evening (September 23), the Supreme Court issued an injunction ordering all state institutions to indefinitely delay the run-off until it had completed its case. Hearings this week saw a procession of anecdotal witnesses describing their voting issues –  with the Jumhooree Party party concluding its case by arguing that its evidence could be extrapolated to indicate systemic failings. The JP also cited the Attorney General’s contribution in the case – labelled as legal but morally questionable by one legal expert – as lending weight to its argument.

The Elections Commission’s legal team disputed the credibility of the JP’s evidence, which included anonymised witnesses citing speculation and rumour, but also argued that even if factual the evidence submitted was not enough to impact the results of the first round.