Civil Court rejects opposition appeal claiming lack of equal campaign opportunities
As with government-aligned parties, opposition coalition have been permitted to host gatherings and events in accordance to HPA regulations
Civil Court rejects oppositions appeal
Civil Court has rejected the PPM-PNC coalition's appeal alleging lack of equal opportunities to the opposition in campaigning for the Local Council and Women's Development Committee (WDC) elections set to be held this year.
The opposition presented their case to the Civil Court on Monday, at which point the Court declared they would be rejecting their appeal.
During Former President Abdulla Yaameen Abdul Gayyoom's administration, political parties belonging to the opposition had been barred from hosting gatherings and events, and they had only been permitted to host a campaign event for the Presidential Elections after multiple appeals were presented to relevant authorities, despite no such limitations existing for the then-ruling party Progressive Party of Maldives.
One of incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's campaign pledges had been to re-secure the right to free assembly for the citizens of the Maldives. Despite the current difficulties present due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, opposition parties are also permitted to host gatherings and events in accordance with health and safety regulations as presented by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
The Progressive Party of Maldives and the People's National Congress made a statement at the beginning of the year saying that they had made many efforts to free Former President Yaameen from prison, where he is serving a five-year jail sentence after having been found guilty of money laundering in November 2019. The PPM-PNC coalition declared that their political activities had gotten much stronger over the past year, and claimed to have observed an uptick in membership for opposition parties as people gathered to support their efforts in freeing Ex-President Yaameen.
