Elections Commission condemned over veiled threat to annul MDP primary

With exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed’s campaign for the May 30 primary in full swing, the EC announced guidelines for conducting primaries and implicitly rejected the candidacies of convicted opposition leaders.

The EC has also asked MDP to provide details of its primary candidates.

Calling the five-member commission “hopelessly politicised” and “little more than a mouthpiece for President [Abdulla] Yameen,” the opposition alliance noted that only the full bench of the Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to resolve disputes concerning the eligibility of presidential candidates.