British Ambassador expresses concern over EC 'threat' to dissolve opposition parties

British Ambassador to the Maldives, James Dauris, announced Thursday that he had shared concerns regarding the Elections Commission's threats to dissolve opposition parties, with members of the United Kingdom (UK) Maldives Parliamentary Group.

Dauris made the declaration in a tweet in which he revealed he was currently in London, UK.

"It's in (almost) all Maldivians' interests that elections are free, fair and inclusive," he said.

In addition to Dauris, the Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at UK's foriegn office, Mark Field, has also expressed concern over EC's warning to dissolve opposition parties, stating that it was "another example of President [Abdulla] Yameen’s disregard for human rights".

He called on the Maldivian authorities to ensure that the presidential election, slated for coming September, would be free and fair.

The ambassador and state minister's comments come in the wake of a notice issued by the Maldives electoral watchdog to main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), warning that the party would be dissolved if former President Mohamed Nasheed were allowed to contest in MDP's presidential primary.

Nasheed is the only candidate MDP has declared for its primary. However, the EC had stated that the primary would deemed null and void as Nasheed is currently sentenced to 13 years in jail under terrorism charges, thus rendering him ineligible to run for presidency according to the Maldivian Constitution.