Former President Mohamed Nasheed, on Sunday, said in a tweet that the prerequisites needed to be met by candidates for the presidential elections slated for this September should be determined by the Supreme Court.
Nasheed’s statement came after the Elections Commission (EC) proclaimed that anyone convicted of a criminal offence could not legally contest in a political party's presidential primary election, warning that such elections would be annulled.
The electoral watchdog made the declaration in a notice concerning the presidential election slated for coming September, stating that only candidates that meet the prerequisites for president as per the Constitution would be allowed to run in primaries.
The former president’s tweet deemed EC’s statement as unconstitutional banter saying that the prerequisites for presidential election candidates must be determined by the Supreme Court with all the judges of the court present.
Nasheed further tweeted EC as a commission handpicked by President Yameen Abdul Gayoom after its' announcement which states that none of the country’s opposition leaders can participate in the upcoming Presidential elections.
EC’s statement notice came soon after former President Mohamed Nasheed formally applied to contest in main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s presidential primary scheduled to be held May 30. While MDP's electoral committee has deemed his application legitimate, Nasheed is currently sentenced to 13-years in jail under terrorism charges over the arbitrary detention of a judge during his regime.
Meanwhile, opposition coalition member Jumhoory Party's presidential candidate is its leader, Qasim Ibrahim, as per the party's charter. However Qasim has also been convicted after the Criminal Court found him guilty of bribery last year, and sentenced him to three years in prison. The former lawmaker is also over 65 years of age, which again bars him from running for presidency under an amendment to the Constitution.
The Elections Commission further noted that the third amendment made to the Political Parties Act in 2013 prohibits all individuals convicted of criminal offences from contesting in parties' primaries. The EC warned that such candidacies would be deemed null and void.
It also stated that political parties are mandated to ensure that their presidential candidates meet all the prerequisites defined under Subject 109 of the Constitution.
Sign In