The Elections Commission of the Maldives has said that there are individuals registered to vote abroad that are ‘wanted’ by local law enforcement, asking them to re-register in the Maldives.
Upon application for registration, the commission contacted local phone numbers provided in their forms and asked these individuals to re-register to vote at a polling station in the Maldives.
The commission said that some of the individuals, registered in Sri Lanka, are wanted by the Maldives Police Service. The commission asked these individuals to re-register by Tuesday, the 29th of August.
Some of these individuals have been implicated in ongoing investigations, with the police having cancelled their travel documents.
They include; president of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s Malé operations, Akram Kamaaludheen and activist Thoyyib Shaheem, a whistleblower that exposed corruption cases involving the government who has been dubbed a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
The commission had also contacted a number of individuals living in self-exile. They have also publically stated that opposition leaders Mohamed Nasheed and Qasim Ibrahim, who have both been found guilty of separate charges, can only vote at the polling stations set up a state detention facility.
