President-elect should be sworn in on 11th November: MP Moosa Manik

President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the victor of presidential ballots held in September, should take his oath of office on November 11th, the date Maldivians celebrate Republic Day, says deputy speaker of parliament Moosa Manik.

MP Manik said in a brief interview with RaajjeMV that he has discussed this with MP Abdulla Shahid, the president of the committee overseeing transition of power on behalf of the Joint Opposition.

Manik said that he will also support this in his next meeting with Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh and that he would make a decision on the matter.

The lawmaker highlighted that the upcoming Republic Day marks 50 years since Maldivians officially ended its centuries-long sultanate, and elected then Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir as president. Moosa said that this historical day should be when Solih and vice president-elect Faisal Naseem take office.

Incumbent President Abdulla Yameen, whose policies Manik has supported and lobbied for, has said that he would hand over office on November 17th, the precise date he took his oath in 2013. While Maldivian presidents had all been sworn in on Republic Day, Yameen’s swear-in ceremony was delayed along with the electoral disputes ahead of his election.