Election Commission has announced that a convict cannot fill an elected position in a party.
An official from EC informed the press that the information about the parties need to be updated at intervals and therefore when parties send their information a name of a convict is written then the party will be asked to correct the name.
“If the involvement of such person (convict) is there is making decisions، the decisions will be not be legible. The commission will ask the party to correct such acts” said the official.
The announcement comes after the ratified amendment to Prison and Parole act which states that inmates have the right to belong to political parties and organizations while serving the sentence however، they cannot be in any senior position of a political party.
Therefore، the former President Mohamed Nasheed who is jailed for 13 years due to terrorism charges will lose MDP presidency but will remain as an MDP member.
Furthermore، MDP’s Chairperson Ali Waheed، AP’s Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla and JP’s deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim will also lose their positions if they are faced with a verdict.