Bringing changes to Local Council Elections Act is unacceptable: MDP
MDP boycotted the vote, which was passed during Wednesday's parliament sitting
Some candidates endorsed by MDP for the council elections
Largest opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that the revision to the criteria for candidates contesting in the Local Council Election “is unacceptable.”
The party made the statement via a press release issued on Wednesday.
MDP said that it opted to boycott the vote as the Bill- proposed by MP for Holhudhoo constituency, Ali Mohamed- as it was against “all democratic norms.”
MDP said that its Parliamentary Group’s goal is "to ensure that the people, and the candidates contesting in the elections, are given the opportunity to a free and fair election."
The party in its statement noted that it "sees the various delays to the council elections with the use of state institutions- due to the fact that President Abdulla Yameen’s faction of the Progressive Party of Maldives was unable to prepare on time- as an infringement upon the people’s rights to a free and fair election."
It added that revising of the candidates’ credibility to contest, during an election or shortly before an election “is an injustice to the people.”
Furthermore, MDP- who have held its primaries for the council elections and chosen its candidates- said that "if there is an advantage due to the Bill, that it is unacceptable that the people who followed the laws will be deprived of it, while those who failed to prepare in time are able to take use of the advantages."
The party noted that there is every possibility that the amendment could result in further delays to the Local Council Elections.
The amendments to the Local Council Elections Act was passed during Wednesday’s parliament sitting, with 46 MPs voting in favor, with 19 MPs voting against it.
READ MORE: Parliament passes amendments to elections eligibility
The Local Council Elections, originally scheduled for January 14, was first postponed by two months, after the Civil Court ordered the Elections Commission to do so.
The Civil Court ruling came after President Yameen’s faction of PPM filed a case, seeking to delay the council elections, citing that the party "was unable to prepare on time due to an internal conflict".
PPM has been divided in to two factions since June 2016, as President Yameen and half-brother, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom continue to be involved in a public battle over party leadership.
Civil Court ruling ordered that the party be taken over from Maumoon, and handed over to Yameen.
