Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr. Mohamed Shainee has fired back at former President Mohamed Nasheed, who has once again expressed confidence that he will be able to run in the 2018 presidential elections.
In an interview to Mihaaru, the former President spoke on the upcoming elections, reiterating his support for an interim government. He also stated that "ongoing discussions between the United States and India about the Maldives' political turmoil would pave the way for him to run in the elections".
However, the fisheries minister said that there is "no way" that Nasheed can participate in the election "unless the constitution changes".
"Mohamed Nasheed still believes that he can use foreign influence to become the President," he added.
@MohamedNasheed still believes tht he can use foreign influence to become the President. No way that he can participate in 2018 election unless constitution changes.
— Mohamed Shainee (@mshainee) November 8, 2017
While he said this in an English tweet on Wednesday, Shainee also sent in a second tweet in Dhivehi.
"We are Maldivians. This is Maldives. This is our Maldives. We will make the decisions (regarding the country)," reads the tweet, highlighting that the government has not held any discussions with any nations regarding the possibility of Nasheed running in the 2018 presidential elections.
The former President was found guilty on terror charges in March 2015, and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. He was granted medical leave in January 2016, and was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom shortly after. Since then he has traveled to many nations, including Sri Lanka, India, Switzerland, Norway and more.
Earlier this week, Indian news outlets reported that the USA and India were holding "intensive discussions" regarding the current political crisis in the Maldives.
