The election process of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has come under intense scrutiny as Ahmed Thariq (Tom), a former FAM president and current candidate, has lodged a formal complaint with FIFA. Thariq, who is in contention against Mufaviz Hashim (Mufa), the Vice Chairman of Club Eagles, is questioning the validity of the electoral committee overseeing the elections.
Facing rejection of his candidacy by the electoral committee, Thariq filed an appeal. However, the process has been hampered by the lack of an Electoral Appeals Committee, with no meetings held to address the issue. Thariq, who enjoys the support of half of FAM’s member clubs, argues that the rejection of his candidature violates FIFA’s statutes. He intends to escalate the issue to both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), citing fundamental breaches of FAM’s rules.
Mohamed Tholal, the Commissioner of Sports, has raised concerns about the governance and procedural aspects of the election and has advised postponing it. The elections were called, with six months remaining in Bassam Adel Jaleel’s presidential term. Despite these concerns, FAM plans to move forward with the election process.
Thariq’s key concerns revolve around several issues. His candidacy was rejected despite having the support of nine out of 18 FAM member clubs, which he contends is in line with FIFA’s statutes. Additionally, the failure to establish a valid Electoral Appeal Committee, as mandated by Article 12 of the FAM Election Rules, has led to an unresolved appeal filed on January 12. The decision on this appeal is expected tomorrow.
He also added that there is an alleged violation of Article 4 of the FAM Electoral Code. This article stipulates that members of the Electoral Committee cannot be elected for two consecutive terms. Despite this, the committee, including Chairman Abdulla Ali was re-elected for an additional term at last year’s congress.
According to Thariq, the illegal continuation of Electoral Committee Chairman Abdulla Ali for three consecutive terms and the re-election of vice chairs Ahmeem Abdul Razzaq and Abdullah Ali (Male’ Registration 6090) for a second term also contravenes the Electoral Code.