Court Watch
person” until the full length of the sentence has been completed.
Indeed, Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 for the Conven- tion requires State Parties to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under con- ditions which will ensure the free expression of the people. In a previous case against the United Kingdom, the ECtHR held that voting restrictions that did not consider the length of the prisoners’ sentences and the nature or gravity of their of- fenses and individual circumstances were invalid.
Here, the ECtHR held that Turkish law, with its sole element of “intent,” was indiscriminate. The Court also held that the law was disproportionate because it did not sufficiently look to the circum- stances of the criminal and the crime, noting that drawing checks with insufficient funds no longer even carries a prison sentence in Turkey.
10
Despite the leftist leanings of the ECtHR, not all States have lost their bids at limiting the voting rights of prisoners. In Scoppola v. Italy, the ECtHR upheld an Italian law mandating that prisoners sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or more forfeit the right to vote for five years, while those sentenced to five years or more, or to life impris- onment, permanently forfeit the right to vote.
* Submitted by Blake Evans
After Delay By Police & Supreme Court, Abdulla Yameen Elected President of the Maldives
On November 17, 2013 Abdulla Yameen was sworn in as President of the Maldives. The inauguration, which occurred just one day after run-off elections, ended an almost two-month long attempt in the Maldives to hold presidential elections. Yameen, who is the half-brother of former Maldivian dicta- tor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, clinched the presi- dency by a margin of less than three percent. Opponent Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, has conceded
to Yameen’s victory and stated that he will not contest the results.
The November 16, 2013 run-off election repre- sented the Maldives’ fourth, and final, attempt to elect a president. Discrepancies concerning names on the voter register lead to the annulment of the original election results. The Supreme Court of the Maldives then set out over 15 new election guidelines and declared that a revote occur in Oc- tober. The revote, however, was forcibly delayed when on the day of elections Maldives police sur- rounded the Elections Commission and halted the distribution of the voting ballots. Police claimed their decision to halt the elections was because not all candidates had signed the voter register, as required in the new election guidelines.
The police delay led to protesting and riots by Nasheed’s supporters; at times, mass political un- rest in the capital city of Malé was so bad that it brought the country’s capital to a halt. Additionally, the disruption in the democratic process attracted the attention and condemnation of the interna- tional community. The next week, Maldives offi- cials announced that a revote would take place on November 9, 2013. Run-off voting was scheduled for the following day, in the event that no candi- date secured more than 50 percent of the vote.
The situation grew more complicated still when, after the revote, the Supreme Court granted Yameen’s petition to delay the run-off votes so that the candidates could have more time to cam- paign. A decision by former President Mohamed Waheed, to remain in office until a new president was chosen led to further riots and unrest. Waheed rejected resignation requests from Nasheed, and requests by the UN for the establishment of an in- terim government. Despite the political turmoil in the Maldives, the run-off elections were success- fully held on November 16, therefore stabilizing a very volatile political situation.
The successful completion of presidential elections has allowed the Maldives to avoid what many had
ILSA Quarterly » volume 22 » issue 2 » December 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88