President Dr. Irfaan Ali has rejected claims that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is using state resources to fund its election campaign, insisting that the party’s operations are financed independently through public support.
“Our party… might have been the only party that would have had so many fundraisers, you would have seen it all across the country,” Ali told reporters today at Base Camp Ayanganna, where he observed Disciplined Services voting.
“We’ve been able to raise enough resources with the love and support of the people… to efficiently carry out our campaign and our work for these elections.”Ali emphasized that there was “no need for State resources” and that “State resources have not been deployed to support our campaign.”
His statement came in response to a recent Carter Center report that raised concerns about the misuse of government assets during the election season. The Carter Center also noted what it described as “over-compliance” by local banks with U.S. sanctions, pointing to the closure of personal accounts belonging to approximately 40 members and associates of the newly formed WIN party.
WIN, led by U.S.-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, has fielded candidates in the September 1 General and Regional Elections. When asked about this, Ali stressed that local banks are bound by global rules. “Our financial institutions are part of the global financial system and that is what people don’t understand. This is not a government giving instruction. These are banks operating within global standards and within a global financial system that can penalize them,” he explained.
The General and Regional Elections are scheduled for September 1, with Joint Services members voting early to allow them to perform security duties on Election Day.
