Ambassador of United States to the Maldives, Atul Keshap has emphasized the importance of all parliamentarians being ‘able to attend sessions and exercise their full rights and duties’ to ensure free and fair elections.

The presidential elections are slated for later this year.

Ambassador Keshap and British Ambassador James Dauris met with the joint opposition, separately, on Thursday.

Sharing a photo with senior members of the joint opposition, including former foreign minister Ahmed Naseem and former parliament speaker Abdulla Shahid, Keshap said that for this year’s election’s to be free and fair “it is essential that all members of parliament be able to attend all sessions and as elected representatives of the people and defenders of democracy”.

Dauris noted that members of Maldives ‘all opposition parties’ had shared concerns that this year’s presidential elections “are not shaping up to be free or fair and that parliament is being stopped from working as the people need it to”.

Their comments are directed towards the confusion regarding the dismissal of 12 opposition lawmakers, with authorities yet to reveal plans for by-elections for any of the constituencies.

The parliamentarians were dismissed after Supreme Court’s ruling on floor-crossing last July, stating any lawmaker that resigns or is expelled from the political party they were registered to at the time of election, or shifts to another party, will lose their seat in the parliament.

On Wednesday, leaders of opposition parties sent a letter of concern to the Supreme Court on Elections Commission (EC)’s decision to dismiss 12 MPs from their seat, asking it ‘to guarantee MPs the right to represent their constituency in parliament’.

The opposition notes that ‘the rights of 60,000 citizens have been violated over the MPs’ removal from parliament, and questioned whether the voting ‘on bills in future parliament sittings would be legitimate without the dismissed lawmakers’.