Male, May 22 (AVAS): The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Tuesday vowed to take the dispute over self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed’s presidential candidacy to the Supreme Court if the country’s electoral watchdog refuses to accept his candidacy.
Elections Commission on Saturday had effectively rejected Nasheed’s candidacy in the upcoming MDP presidential primary.
Nasheed lives in self imposed exile most recently in Sri Lanka after he was allowed to leave to the UK on medical leave in an internationally brokered deal following his jailing on terrorism charges.
Nasheed’s 13 year prison sentence rules him out of the elections in September. But the ex-president is set to contest the primary on May 30 unchallenged.
The commission in a statement had warned to reject the results of any primary held with candidates who do not meet the qualifications prescribed in the constitution.
Nasheed’s campaign manager Mohamed Aslam however, told reporters on Tuesday that the elections commission is yet to directly reject Nasheed’s candidacy.
Aslam said the commission should be aware of its jurisdiction under both the constitution and the laws adding that the party would take any dispute over Nasheed’s candidacy to the apex court as per the constitution.
The main opposition leaders including former presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Nasheed along with Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim and religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla inked pact to form what they called a ‘reform alliance’.
With the candidacy of the four leaders – all convicted and serving sentences on questionable charges in serious doubt, the united opposition had announced plans to nominate a single candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
