Akram Kamaludeen denied opportunity to run in MDP internal elections

Although the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ruled out State Minister Akram Kamaludeen's involvement in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption case, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has denied him the opportunity of taking part in internal elections.

While opportunity to apply for the elections was opened on April 24, the party is currently looking into the qualifications of candidates to ensure they meet required criteria and conditions,

MDP, in a letter, informed Akram that he does not qualify to run for election with claims that ACC had notified them that an investigation into a case against the state minister is ongoing.

While MDP said this, the anti-corruption watchdog is to have informed Akram that there are no ongoing investigations related to him. RaajjeMV has obtained a copy of the letter sent to Akram by the commission, on 7 March 2019.

While ACC has released a list of alleged benefactors of the the largest corruption scandal in the country's history, MDP back in April decided against allowing those mentioned in the list to compete in elections.

According to a report published by the presidential commissions on Corruption and Asset Recovery as well as Disappearances and Deaths, those who are involved in any sort of crime will not be allowed to take part in elections.

Akram allegedly accepted money from SOF Private Limited, the company used to siphon cash from the islands’ tourism board, according to a report by ACC in early 2019. The State Minister for Infrastructure was suspended following this, only to be reinstated in April after being cleared by ACC.

Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof, who was suspended again after ACC sought charges against him in relation to the MMPRC graft back in June, said that the fact that Akram cannot run for MDP elections but is allowed to remain a state minister "does not make sense".