Members of Adhaalath Party at a rally of Maldives United Opposition. PHOTO/ADHAALATH PARTY
Religiously conservative Adhaalath Party resubmitted its lawsuit against the Elections Commission after the Civil Court threw out the case as Adhaalth Party had failed to attend the hearing.
The case stated that the party was unlawfully fined under the Political Parties act.
Elections Commission had fined Adhaalath Party MVR 69,000 in 2015 over initiating the major opposition protest “May Day” against the government.
Deputy Leader of Adhaalath Party Ali Zahir explained that the case was thrown out as their lawyer was late to the hearing by a few minutes.
The courts hold the authority to throw out cases should the plaintiff fail to be present at hearings. However, the plaintiff may resubmit the case at any time.
May Day protest was the biggest rally organised by the opposition so far. Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was fined MVR 53,000 over the matter under the same Act.
The protest involved violence which led to the conviction of several people including leader of Adhaalath Party Imran Abdulla, who is serving a jail sentence for inciting violence during the protest.