Revote in Maldives on October 19 after SC orders fresh ballot

The Maldives must hold a fresh round of presidential polls before October 20, the Supreme Court has ruled while annulling the first phase as the government today appealed to all parties to support new elections.
The verdict is a major blow to former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed who had emerged as the winner in the first round.
The first round of fresh presidential poll must be held before the 20th of this month and the second round, if necessary, should be before November 3, 2013, the apex court directed yesterday.
The ruling came after a case was filed by the Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim, alleging serious irregularities.

The Elections Commission, meanwhile, said the revote would be held on October 19.
October 19 is the fresh date for polls, the commission's Secretary General Asim Abdu Sattar confirmed.

Giving the details of the verdict, Maldivian High Commissioner to India Mohamed Naseer told PTI that the verdict was issued by majority of the 7-judge bench.
"The Supreme Court's judgement was based on the fact that 5,623 votes were cast fraudulently. These include votes cast using false ID cards, in the name of the deceased, by minors, votes cast without a valid ID card, issues of double voting, votes cast using ID cards with conflicting permanent addresses and name differences as well as votes cast by those not registered under the Department of National Registration (DNR).

"It was held that these 5,623 votes are sufficient to significantly alter the positions of the candidates that came 2nd and 3rd in the Election which was 2,677 votes," he said.
Hours after the verdict, the Maldives government urged all parties to support fresh elections after the Supreme Court annulled results of the September 7 polls.
The government said in a statement it "seeks support of friendly governments and international organisations to assist the government and all related parties... And encourage everyone concerned to respect and abide by the Supreme Court ruling".
The government led by incumbent President Mohamed Waheed also pledged a "smooth transfer of power" to the winner of the fresh elections.