Fisheries minister Mohamed Shainee has proclaimed that the ruling coalition aims to compete in a competitive, independent election and elect President Abdulla Yameen for a new term in the upcoming elections.
After returning from a trip to garner support for the Maldives’ bid to win a seat in the United Nations Security Council, Shainee stated that the government was working on holding an independent election. Dismissing the opposition’s claims that the government was trying to avoid a free and fair election, Shainee declared that they had no evidence to prove such allegations.
He also speculated that convicted former president Mohamed Nasheed would not allow the opportunity for another individual to compete as an opposition candidate in his place, even if he is ineligible to compete.
He further accused the former president of using delaying tactics to nominate a candidate whom he could manipulate, and avoid giving the parties in the joint opposition the opportunity to compete in the election.
Furthermore, he noted that the international community had accepted the Local Council Elections held last year as free and fair, even though the opposition deemed it unfair. Their accusations had died down after they won the majority of seats in the election, and finally accepted the results.
“The reports compiled by the international observers would be available for the new observers coming in to monitor the elections this time to look into and access. It will be evident that Maldivians are competent in dealing with the situation of the country.”
He also declared that the government with its coalition partners represented a large majority of the voters, and that the opposition would not be able to gather enough support to beat Yameen in the upcoming presidential elections.
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