Professor Hassan Ugail has said that he will soon be renouncing his British citizenship.

Professor Ugail confirmed this in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The Facebook post reads: “Shortly I shall be submitting my application to renounce my British citizenship which I have been holding for over 15 years. I shall remain just a Maldivian.”

He also shared the hashtag ‘#ProudToBeJustAMaldivian’.

While he did not disclose a reason for the decision, the ruling party has passed a bill to ban any Maldivian with foreign citizenship from contesting presidential elections for 10 years after he or she renounces foreign citizenship.

Ugail was rumored to have been a possible opposition candidate for this year’s election but the bill will erase any chances of him contesting.

Ugail is a Professor of Visual Computing at the University of Bradford.