Male: Terming demands for annulment of Presidential Elections in Maldives as "deeply worrying", the Commonwealth on Tuesday said it hopes that the Supreme Court decides the issue expeditiously so that the second round can be held "without further delay".
Commonwealth Secretary-General`s Special Envoy Don McKinnon said that Maldivian people went to the polls "in good faith" on September 07 to elect a President.
These elections were found to be competitive and credible by observers, notably by a high-level and experienced Commonwealth observer group, he said.
"It is therefore deeply worrying to hear comments calling for the annulment of that election. No election anywhere is going to be absolutely perfect and there was no evidence or claim before the election that the voter register was manifestly so deficient as to so distort the outcome," he said in a statement issued today.
The envoy said he hopes that the Supreme Court will deliver its judgement expeditiously in the case so that the second round can be held, and the verdict of the Maldivian people determined, without further delay.
"As I have stated before, the Maldivian people must be the winners in this election -- they are collectively more important than any one political leader. The people of Maldives worked hard to get a democratic constitution, they want it respected and it is their right that the elections deliver a result that reflects the wishes of the majority," he said.
The Maldivian Supreme Court yesterday deferred the second round of polls indefinitely on a plea of Jumhooree Party (JP) which stood third and missed the chance of a run-off with former president Mohammed Nasheed in the second round by a whisker.
Nasheed emerged as the front-runner with over 45 percent of the votes in the September 7 polls.
PTI
