Presidential candidate Solih advises voters to be vary of re-registration fraud

MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Joint Opposition’s presidential candidate, has advised voters to be vary of fraud in the re-registration process for September’s ballots.

The Hinnavaru constituency lawmaker, who was tapped for candidacy by the Maldivian Democratic Party, said this during his speech at a campaign event in Dharavandhoo island of Baa atoll.

In his speech, MP Solih said that all voters required to re-register must pay keen attention to the status of their registration and to ensure that they are eligible to vote. Solih further called on said voters to be aware of the process and claimed that there are ongoing efforts to exploit any lack of such awareness.

The candidate’s advisory comes at a time when both the ruling party and the Joint Opposition have accused each other approaching non-registered individuals and deliberately mishandling their applications based on their political leanings.

Opposition aligned lawmaker MP Ahmed Mahloof said that his constituents in South-Galolhu have expressed concern over obscurity in the re-registration process. Mahloof said that state employees who registered with government offices and ruling party outposts did not receive slips, given as evidence of registration.

Incumbent President Abdulla Yameen called on his supporters to refrain from signing on with any other organizations other than the ruling party, claiming that their applications will likely not be sent to the Elections Commission, leaving them ineligible to vote on the day of the ballots.

Addressing the residents of Dharavandhoo island, Solih said that it is a prime example of how progress can be achieved without centralization as its population have remained in their native homes despite pressure to relocate to more developed islands, namely the atoll capital Eydhafushi.

Dharavandhoo is the site of atoll’s airport as well as an eco-zone and tourism hot-spot famous for its clear waters and marine life. In this regard, Solih said that the government has not done justice to the island, which is one of the key tourist income generators in the country.

While President Yameen has been grandstanding on his government’s reported expenses towards developing outlying islands, ironically comparing his administration’s expenses with that of the Maldivian Democratic Party’s during recession-struck 2008, Solih noted several facilities that Dharavandhoo is lacking, such as access to reliable utilities and youth centers.