President of the Elections Commission, Ahmed Shareef has announced that the issue of the attempted attack on the joint opposition presidential candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his campaign activities is being probed and that the official monitoring of candidates will begin once their names are officially announced and campaign activities officially begin.

Speaking in a press conference hosted by the commission on Thursday, the President said that the official monitoring of candidates will begin once their names are officially announced and that then their campaign activities will be monitored accordingly.

“The activities that are currently being carried out by political parties are party activities prior to the presidential elections. We will discuss safety measures to facilitate such activities at times. We are probing the attempted attack on Solih jointly with the Maldives Police Service (MPS). Discussions are underway to determine which safety measures must be taken to minimize such actions and to ensure safety for candidates” said Shareef.

Further speaking about the approaching Presidential Election, Shareef said that the ballots will not be delayed given a delay in budget as the Ministry of Finance and Treasury has allocated the budget for the ballots already.

On Tuesday, two men had targeted Solih as his team had arrived in Hulhumale’ as part of his door-to-door campaign for the approaching ballots.

Later in the day, engine oil filled packets were thrown at the campaign team as they were leaving the Coralville Apartments in the capital city’s suburban extension, with journalists and media crew covering the event falling victim to the attack as well.

The opposition, as well as Home Minister Azleen Ahmed had condemned the attempted attack on the joint opposition candidate, with President Abdulla Yameen having maintained silence over the matter.