Opposition leader and former President, Mohamed Nasheed has called on the Maldivian government “to make necessary reforms” to ensure the election’s legitimacy and enter into a dialogue with political party.
The former president said this in a tweet posted on Monday, highlighting that the Maldives is in need of “urgent reforms” in order to guarantee the people their constitutional right to free and fair elections.
In the tweet he noted that all evidence points to incumbent President Abdulla Yameen’s scheming “to steal” the upcoming election.
Urgent reforms required to guarantee Maldivians’ constitutional right to free&fair elections.Thus far,all evidence points to scheme by Pres YAG to steal Sept elections.I call upon MV govt to make necessary reforms to ensure election’s legitimacy&enter into talks with opposition
— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) July 2, 2018
Following the election of MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s selection as Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s presidential candidate, the Government of Maldives said that it welcomes the party’s decision and congratulated Solih. It further renewed its invitation for all-party talks in order “to pave a way forward for the elections”.
Solih was elected by MDP’s national congress on Saturday, following Nasheed’s decision to relinquish his presidential ticket. Nasheed won MDP’s presidential ticket in its primary held on May 30, with over 40,000 votes.
While the government has called for all-party talks to find solutions for any issues regarding the elections, parliament is currently trying to pass an amendment to the Presidential Elections Act, to further tighten the ruling party’s grip and ensure a smooth win for President Yameen in the elections slated for September 30.
The amendment proposed by the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) states that ‘a Maldivian who has had dual citizenship will be barred from running in a presidential election for 10 years after renouncing foreign citizenship’.
