Ex-Elections Commission chief to return to Maldives

Former Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek has said that he will be returning to the Maldives, after living abroad for over three years.

Fuwad revealed in a tweet on Thursday that he is 'returning to Maldives after being away for 3 years 7 months 5 days in Sri Lanka'.

According to the tweet, Fuwad will arrive at the Velana International Airport at 7:00am on Sunday.

"My sincere thanks to the hospitable people in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been my home away from home", Fuwad said.

Thowfeek’s tenure at the commission was well-received and he and his colleagues were widely regarded as having defended the integrity and independence of the 2013 presidential elections.

While the Supreme Court repealed the results of ballots won by now opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed and delayed run-off rounds, Thowfeek and his team had defied law enforcement and set up polling stations to meet the constitutional deadline for ballots.

Ultimately, he and then vice president of the commission, Ahmed Fayaz were stripped of their membership and sentenced to six months in jail through a trial opened on the basis of suo moto regulations that allowed the court bench to act as both prosecutor and adjudicator.