The joint Senate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and its coalition partner People’s National Congress (PNC) has voted against opposition leader and former President Abdulla Yameen's request to boycott this year’s presidential election.
From the total of 126 members who participated in Sunday's joint senate session of PPM and PNC, 67 members voted against boycotting the presidential election, while 46 members voted in favor of former President Abdulla Yameen's plea.
The vote was taken by the joint Senate to determine whether to boycott the presidential election following The Supreme Court’s full judges’ bench upheld the Elections Commission’s (EC) decision to reject Yameen’s candidacy deeming him constitutionally ineligible with reference to Article 109 of the Maldives Constitution.
After the court's verdict, Yameen presented a notice to the coalition's leadership, urging its members to boycott this year's presidential election if they believed his fundamental right to participate in the election had been infringed.
During the Senate meeting, tensions escalated among members, resulting in heated exchanges. Additionally, a group of individuals forced their way into PPM's main campaign office when the meeting went into recess. The situation was quickly brought under control, and the individuals were escorted out of the office by authorities.
While some members who are close allies of Yameen voiced their opposition to boycotting the elections, the People's National Congress (PNC) had previously greenlighted Malé City Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to be its presidential candidate in case Yameen's candidacy is disqualified.
Dr. Muizzu had already announced Faresmaathoda MP Hussain Mohamed Latheef as his running mate.
The deadline for submitting presidential candidacy forms is set to expire at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 7.
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