Former President Mohamed Nasheed has indicated that a last-minute decision would allow him to compete in the upcoming presidential election slated for September.
During the Q&A session after his speech at the 41st annual convention of The Capital Maharaja Organisation Limited (TCMOL) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the former president asserted that the current political situation in the Maldives does not allow him to contest in the election.
Nasheed said that Maldives’ political climate would remain unchanged for some time; however, when the election dawns closer, he said that the circumstances would allow him to contest in the election. Nasheed added that he was hopeful of winning the presidential election again, too.
The former president said that he faced many setbacks in his 2008 presidential bid, but that he was able to overcome them and win the historic election that made him the first democratically elected president of the Maldives.
The current political crisis in Maldives is heartbreaking, Nasheed said, assuring that he is keeping track of what is happening in the country.
The former president was disqualified from contesting in the presidential election after he was sentenced to 13-years in prison on terrorism charges on March 13, 2015, in a trial that was widely criticised for lack of due process. After serving 10-months in prison, Nasheed left on medical leave to the United Kingdom and has since been granted political asylum there.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee on April 16 ruled in favour of Nasheed and firmly advocated his right to stand for office; however, the ruling government had quickly rejected the decision and insisted that Nasheed’s rights were not violated.
While the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has officially announced that President Abdulla Yameen's candicay, the opposition coalition, which Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is a part of, has not made a decision regarding its potential candidate yet.
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