The government has informed political parties that, those who are serving prison sentences cannot be representatives in party talks even with the approval of respective party councils.
The President’s office sent a letter to Adhalath Party saying that, representatives cannot be someone who is serving prison time. The President’s Office sent this letter as a reply to a letter sent to the office by Adhalath Party.
In addition, the letter highlighted that, political parties should operate within the law, rules and regulations and that Adhalath Party does not have an elected president at the moment. Also, the letter questioned the validity of the decisions made by the party under present status, since the party does not fulfil all the legal requirements of operating the party.
Furthermore, it was highlighted that representatives can only be individuals who are nominated through the party council or national governing body.
Hence, the former President of Adhalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdullah and former President of MDP, Mohammed Nasheed cannot take part in the party talks. In addition, the representatives of PPM proposed by Maumoon, Faarish Maumoon and Mohammed Waheed also cannot represent PPM in the party talks. It is expected that if Maumoon do not hold a council meeting, and follows the procedure to nominate representatives, the previous representatives will get the chance to represent PPM.