The current conditions in the Maldives ‘have to change so that the next elections are held in line with international obligations’, said the European Union on Thursday.

In a report issued following its recent trips to the Maldives, led by the EU Ambassador to the Maldives Eduard Kukan, the European Union noted that its officials- during these trips- met with representatives of the authorities, political parties, media, civil society and the international community. It however highlighted that some key meetings ‘notably with the President and Supreme Court’ were not granted.

The EU noted that electoral reforms ‘have not been a priority on the domestic political agenda’ in the country, adding that ‘neither the government nor the People’s Majlis nor the opposition have sought to address the issue of electoral reforms’.

“To date, the political and institutional environment of the Republic of Maldives has not been conducive for the adoption of meaningful and concerted electoral reforms,” reads the reports, adding that international attention is focused ‘on broader concerns relating to respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights violations’.

While a EU Election Follow-up Mission (EFM) had visited the Maldives in January, it noted that the mission ‘found that progress was limited in the implementation of the recommendations,’ adding that it was informed ‘that a number of amendments to electoral legislation have been recently prepared by the Office of the Attorney General, with inputs by the Elections Commission (EC), to be submitted to the Majlis’.

“The EFM has been informed that some of these amendments would address relevant EU EOM recommendations. The EFM would like to emphasize that amendments to electoral legislation should be widely disseminated and discussed among all the political actors at the Majlis, sufficiently ahead of the next election. The enactment of the 2016 Gender Equality Act represents a positive development in line with an EOM recommendation,” reads the press release.

Noting the EFM’s concern over ‘the shrinking and polarization of political space’ EU said that these concerns ‘have been exacerbated by the recent political developments’.

Ambassador Kukan said that ‘the current conditions have to change so the next elections are held in line with the international obligations of the Maldives’, adding that ‘political contestants need to be able to freely campaign on a level playing field, and civil society and the media need to be able to freely perform their oversight functions’.