Maldives Third-Way Democrats (MTD) has responded to the Elections Commission (EC) over refusing to accept former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb as party leader.

In a tweet on Friday, MTD stated that it has the full legal authority to elect its own leader and asked the EC to ‘not get political’ and interfere with the party.

Adeeb is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years. While he is currently under house arrest due to health issues, MTD stated that he was elected leader at a council meeting on Thursday night.

RaajjeMV contacted EC chief Ahmed Shareef and asked whether someone serving a prison sentence could act as a party leader. Shareef responded that it was illegal for a convict to be a party leader.

Work to register MTD began after Adeeb was transferred to house arrest, and he later became the party’s first member.