President: Will not ratify any legislation to disqualify ex-presidents from Parliament

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced he will not ratify any legislature designed to disqualify former presidents from running for the Parliament.

The statement was made by Solih during a press conference at the President’s Office this Thursday afternoon.

Solih’s statement comes after Jumhoory Party (JP) lawmaker, Abdul Latheef Mohamed submitted legislation to amend both Elections Act and the Maldivian Constitution to disqualify former presidents from running for the Parliament.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has described the legislature as a targeted attack against its leader, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who is the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Central Machangolhi constituency.

Solih, during the press conference this Thursday, announced point-blank that he will not ratify the legislation, even if it is passed by the Parliament.

“I will not ratify the amendment being brought to the Constitution to disqualify former presidents,” said Solih.

Solih said he will not ratify any legislature designed to constrict the work of any politician.

Though the legislature was submitted by a JP lawmaker, Solih reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining the government coalition, and said he wanted to see the next set of lawmakers elected to the Parliament to be representatives of all government coalition parties.

Solih said that none of the coalition partners have yet to walk out of their alliance.

He also downplayed the recent heated exchange of words between Nasheed and the Leader of JP, Qasim Ibrahim as “conflicts of political opinion”.

Speaking in an earlier interview to ‘Sun’, MP Latheef said the State already spent generously on former presidents, and found it unseemly for former presidents to go on to assume a lower public service post.