Maldives elections: opposition shares concerns with UN officials

Senior officials of main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) met with a delegation from the United Nations Department of Political Affairs Asia Division on Sunday.

The party's foreign relations committee chair Abdulla Shahid and secretary general Anas Abdul Sattar took part in the meeting held at the MDP main office in capital Malé City.

Speaking to RaajjeMV afterwards, former Speaker and current Henveiru-North constituency MP Shahid highlighted that this is the second such visit from the UN department this month.

Noting that the UN officials wished to hear the concerns regarding the current situation in Maldives, Shahid said they had briefed the officials on how the government and Elections Commission are manipulating voter re-registration with plans to meddle with the vote.

In addition, the MDP officials shared concerns regarding the use of civil servants in ruling party campaign activities, using state apparatus to intimidate the opposition and the constant changes that are being brought to elections regulations.

They also briefed the UNDPA officials on how the Elections Commission had violated Supreme Court regulation in creating a voters list, as well as the fact that it has failed to respond to the concerns noted by opposition members of the national advisory committee.

Further highlighting the opposition's lack of trust in the Commission, Shahid noted why there is room to question its independence including the fact that current Elections Commissioner had been active in President Abdulla Yameen's campaign 'up until his appointment to the Commission'.

"A free, fair and inclusive election is impossible with the current EC", added Shahid in a tweet posted later.

As noted by Shahid, an UNDPA delegation was in the Maldives earlier this month as well.

While the team returned to New York on July 13, it said that it had held 'a series of productive engagements with national political and civil society interlocutors'.

A delegation of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs visited the Maldives back in March as well, following the turmoil in the country due to the controversial ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1.

While a UNDPA team is in the Maldives for the third time this year, the department plays a central role in the efforts to prevent and resolve conflict around the world.