Vice presidential candidate of Jumhooree Party (JP) Dr Hassan Saeed has said that fingerprints are taken for the purpose of verifying in the event of a problem, and that it is not a problem if all fingerprints that cannot be verified.
Speaking at a press conference held by JP in Maafannu Kunooz today, Dr Saeed said that government institutions are capable of verifying fingerprints in the event of a problem.
“The Supreme Court verdict states that fingerprints have to be included, the purpose of which is to verify in the event of a problem. Since it’s part of the Supreme Court verdict, we are obliged to do it. It should be possible to verify, via relevant government authorities, if the need arises. We don’t think it’s an issue that it’s not possible to verify all fingerprints,” he said.
Following the statement by the Elections Commission (EC) that they do not have the capability to verify all the fingerprints required on the re-registration forms, presidential candidate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Abdulla Yameen said that he would not sign the re-registration forms, in his capacity as a presidential candidate, if the fingerprints cannot be verified.
Referring to Yameen’s remark, Dr Saeed said that it would be impossible to verify all fingerprints.
“Verifying every fingerprint would be impossible. We don’t even have the means necessary to do that. It would not be wise to make such demands, in relation to an issue for which the Supreme Court has set a deadline and at a time when we lack the financial means,” he said.
EC president Fuad Thaufeeq said earlier that neither the police nor the Department of National Registration (NDR) have the capability to verify fingerprints of all the citizens in the country, but that re-registration forms with fingerprint issues will be forwarded to the police for investigation.