President: People shouldn’t be denied marriage due to outstanding motorcycle fines

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih pledged to resolve issues arising from penalties for underage motorcycle driving on Tuesday, stating that no one should be denied the right to get married due to outstanding license fines.

President Solih took part in a MDP Rahvehi Rathis campaign event for the upcoming Local Council Elections targeting the atolls on Tuesday night.

Speaking during the event, a candidate for a Fuvahmulah council seat voiced concern over fines imposed on children under the age of 18 years for unlicensed driving.

The President said that the issue is prevalent not just in the atolls, but also in Male’ City. He said that his administration will provide an effective solution to the issue and enable them to get their license soon.

“Another issue arising from this is that you can’t get married if you have an outstanding fine. Some can’t get married. When they go [to court], they are told they have an outstanding fine. So they can’t [get married] if they don’t pay the fine. There are many facing this. We should not prevent these things. We will provide a solution to this,” he said.

President Solih said that some have incurred over MVR 100,000 in fines for unlicensed driving that they are unable to pay.

However, he also advised against unlicensed driving.