In order to pave the way for campaigning ahead of the upcoming Presidential Elections, the Parliament yesterday voted to suspend the section in Article 9 which specified a campaign period for the upcoming Presidential Elections.
The suspension of the clause allowing campaigning to go ahead without restrictions was supported by 34 of the 39 MPs present.
The Minister of Legal Reform Mohamed Nasheed said that the aim of the bill was to ensure that campaigning would go ahead as democratically as possible.
“Some of those who have declared themselves Presidential candidates are still asking about it,” Nasheed said. “When they go to some islands they are asked whether campaigning is legal. When they try to get a place to hold meetings and meet with the people they are asked whether the law allowed them to do so. So my aim is to dispel all such concerns.”
MP Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) said that the removal of the clause didn’t mean much either way since some parties were already campaigning. Ibra himself did not participate in the vote.
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