Amendment disallowing running for presidency after 65, withdrawn

The amendment proposed to the Constitution, to disallow people above the age of 65 from running for presidency, has been withdrawn.

The amendment bill was submitted to parliament by Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) member, Hoarafushi MP Mohamed Ismail. He told Sun Online today that it was withdrawn following a request from senior government officials.

He added that the bill has nothing to do with Jumhooree Party Leader (JP) Gasim Ibrahim.

“As you would be aware of, we [MDA] are part of the government coalition. We sought advice from MDA Leader Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, before submitting the amendment. One of the main reasons for withdrawing the amendment, is that I was requested to do so by some senior government officials,” he said.

He also acknowledged that considering the country’s current political situation, it would be best to withdraw the bill proposing the disallow people above 65 from running for presidency.

This withdrawal follows a meeting between Deputy Leader of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Ahmed Adeeb, prominent businessman Champa Mohamed Moosa, and Gasim Ibrahim last night.

In response to a question by Sun Online, Gasim said that political issues as well as private business matters were discussed during the meeting.