MDP Appeals Board has ordered the annulment of the announcement and timeline for party's Chairperson election, stating that the opening of the election was in violation of the party’s general regulations.
While the opportunity to contest for the MDP Chairperson position has been opened, former President Mohamed Nasheed and South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem have decided to compete for the post.
In a letter sent today by the President of the Appeals Board, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, to the interim Chairperson Abdul Ghafoor Moosa (Gapo), it was stated that Article 46 of the general regulations mandates that the organization and management of the election for the party's Chairperson is the responsibility of the President of the Appeals Board. Therefore, the letter noted that matters related to the election cannot be decided without notifying him.
"Therefore, any decision made by any organ of the party regarding the Chairperson election without notifying me cannot be anything other than a violation of the general regulations..." the letter stated.
The letter further stated that the announcement to open the election and the timeline published alongside it were decisions made by certain individuals in violation of the party's basic regulations. He directed that those decisions be declared null and void.
The letter also stated that many MDP members had been fraudulently registered with other parties, and that proceeding with the election without allowing them to rejoin would infringe on candidates’ rights.
"...And at this moment, when tension has arisen among the party leaders, I also state that making a decision that could damage the internal interests of the party is not the right way forward."
As the Appeals Board issued this directive, Abdulla Shairu, who was part of former President Mohamed Nasheed's legal team, also submitted the matter to the Appeals Board today, claiming that the election announcement violates Article 46 of the party's general regulations and should be annulled.
In the Chairperson election scheduled for June, only those who joined the MDP by 12:00 AM last night will be eligible to vote. Following the opening of that opportunity, 4,868 people joined the party by that deadline. Consequently, MDP stated that the total membership of the party has now reached 50,594.
Fayyaz Ismail, former Chairperson who is actively involved in Nasheed's campaign, stated that while there were 44,000 members in the MDP yesterday, the membership has risen to 50,000 today. Fayyaz added that if the membership drive had been conducted with more careful consideration, the number of members would have increased to 60,000.
