Male’, Maldives – Elections Commission (EC) President Ahmed Shareef has asked the public not to spread unconfirmed rumors that devalue the commission.
Shareef said this after local news outlet “Mihaaru” published that according to a member of Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions, an EC employee was almost driven to suicide due to harassments from a former EC member.
The accusing EC employees alleged that workplace sexual harassment is normalized at the commission, describing it as “persistent like a tradition”.
In a tweet earlier today, Shareef tagged multiple major news outlets and asked them not to spread unconfirmed rumors without asking EC for a statement
Ahmed Akram, EC’s Vice president resigned just a few days ago, after being voted to be removed by the Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee yesterday after allegations of sexual harassment.
A member of the Independent Institutions Committee said on the 18th of November that, Akram was voted to be deposed by 7 of the 9 attending committee members after reviewing the information provided by the accusing employees and following some conversations held after summoning Akram and other EC members to a committee meeting.
Akram announced his resignation the very next in a letter to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in which he said that he does not wish to continue as a member of an independent institution without support from the Independent Institutions Committee and has said that accusations against him are untrue and is a conspiracy orchestrated by a certain group.
Following the announcement, Shareef said on twitter that Akram is a talented leader that the Elections Commission as lost, and that he is not someone who would sexually harass any employees, and that “life will bring its ups and downs”.
