Audio leaked of President saying presidential elections will not be held without establishment of justice in the courts

An audio has leaked of President Nasheed saying that no presidential elections will be held before the establishment freedom of expression and justice in the courts.

When or where these statements were made by the President are unclear. He says in the nineteen second audio, “I will not hold presidential elections at the end of these five years without the establishment of two things: the freedom of expression and justice in the courts. This is a promise I made to the Maldivian citizens…”

Attempts to obtain a clarification about when and where the President made this speech and if the President has the authority to make such comments, have not been successful as there was no answer on the phone of Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair.

In a second audio obtained by Sun, the President is heard saying “Judge Abdulla will not work at the court during the course of this government”.

“Even if Judge Abdulla is released, I will explicitly inform the military that he will not be allowed within 100 meters of the court building. He will not be allowed, definitely not be allowed. I am telling you with confidence that as long as I am in power, Judge Abdulla will not go near the court. He will not even be allowed within 100 meters of children, if he is a problematic person,” the President is heard saying on the audio.

While two of his audios have leaked today, an audio where he is heard saying that the orders of lower courts will not be implemented was also leaked recently. The government made no attempts to deny the contents of this audio.

According to Article 110 of the Constitution, presidential elections must be held between 120 to 130 days before the end of every presidential term. This is a responsibility held by the Elections Commission.