MNP: Election-related complaint submitted to ACC, no action taken

Maldives National Party (MNP), on Wednesday, revealed no action has been taken despite the party filing a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) expressing some of their concerns as they believe the presidential elections slated for Saturday will neither be fair nor equal.

Speaking at a press conference held by the party on Wednesday, MNP’s leader and presidential candidate Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim’s election agent, Ahmed Usham claimed the independent institutions are not independent as of present – emphasizing the lack of action by such institutions “as the government and state-owned companies blatantly try to influence the election”.

“We have raised complaints at various forums over the issue. Have submitted a complaint to the Elections Commission in addition to the Advisory Committee on Elections formulated by the EC, as well as the Anti-Corruption Commission. Nevertheless, we are seeing no action taken despite just a few days until the election,” Usham, who also serves as the parliamentarian for the Vilimale’ constituency said.

He said he does not believe that the election will be fair if held while such circumstances persist.

“We are still appealing to independent institutions to investigate the matter and take action accordingly,” he added.

Commenting on the matter, ACC’s Senior Communication Manager Nishan Mohamed Didi said no such complaints have been received from MNP so far.

MNP’s deputy leader and the party’s campaign manager Hussain Ismail highly criticized President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s decision on Tuesday to waive parking fines spanning the last five years. He described waiving the fines of individuals who have violated traffic regulations as unfair, especially to individuals who have been settling the fines on the regular.