Ex-President Nasheed to let go of MDP presidential ticket

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, who has been campaigning for the upcoming presidential elections, has withdrawn his ballot bid.

Nasheed, founder and presidential candidate of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), announced this in a tweet late Friday morning.

Nasheed’s tweet translates to, ‘out of respect for concerns that MDP may not have a presidential candidate accepted by the Elections Commission, I have decided to let go of the party ticket, this will be done officially at MDP’s third congress’.

The party congress will be held on Saturday at Ukulhas island of Alif Alif atoll. While Nasheed announced this, the Elections Commission previously said that they would penalize the party for allowing him to have contested in its primary vote.

The Elections Commission took this stand on the grounds of Nasheed having been convicted of terrorism charges, which have been described by the United Nations and the European Union along with the governments of several countries as politically motivated.

Earlier this year, the United Nations Human Rights Commission had also found that Nasheed’s conviction was the result of influenced and unjust judicial proceedings, and called on the Maldives to allow him to contest in the upcoming elections.