Opposition: Ready for all-party talks, representatives will be decided by parties

The opposition has announced they are ready for all-party talks with the government, and that representatives who will participate in the talks will be decided by respective political parties.

Speaking to press after a meeting with the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Maldives, Shoko Noda, Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Faris Maumoon said the opposition was ready for an open dialogue with the government if the offer was well-intentioned.

“It may difficult if there are too many conditions. The representatives will be decided by us. It will not be the government which decides who other party’s representatives will be. It will be the respective parties which decide who their representatives will be,” said Faris.

Faris said the opposition was ready for a genuine open dialogue with the government.

The comments come after Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. Mohamed Shainee, in a press conference at President’s Office on March 30, invited all political parties operating in Maldives for a sit-down with the government.

Shainee said the government had no problem with the representatives for the all-party talks proposed by the parties before.

He said the government had also withdrawn its condition in 2014 that no one convicted of terrorism be allowed to participate in the talks.