MDP primary: voting time extended, ballot boxes to be kept at resorts

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has decided to extend primary hours, as well as to place ballot boxes in resorts.

The party is to hold its primary on May 30, with the presidential elections slated for later this year.

MDP said that the reason for the time extension is to encourage its members to exercise their right to vote.

Hence, the party said that the ballot boxes for the primary will be open from 2pm to midnight on May 30.

Further noting that a number of its members work in the resort industry, MDP said that it wants to make the voting process ‘as easy as possible’ for them as well. It added that those interested in assisting the party should contact them before May 23.

While the Maldivian Democratic Party prepares to hold its primary, the only individual to have submitted candidacy papers within the given deadline is its co-founder and leader, former President Mohamed Nasheed.

While the said deadline ended last Saturday, the Elections Commission has since reminded all parties that those contesting in must have the required qualifications, adding that it will annul the candidacy of those ineligible to run, even if they have been granted a party ticket.

Former President Nasheed was issued a 13-year jail sentence in March 2015. While he was allowed to travel to the United Kingdom for medical purposes in January 2016, he has since been granted political asylum there.

While Nasheed is constitutionally barred from contesting in the elections- as Maldivian law states that ‘no one who had been convicted and sentenced to a term of more than 12 months in prison can contest elections unless three years have passed after their release’- his 23-day trial has been widely criticized, with international organizations such as Amnesty International saying that the trial was ‘flawed from start to finish, and the conviction is unsound’.