All-party talks will not resume until EC decision reached

All Party Roadmap Talks will not continue until the Elections Commission (EC) has completed its investigations into a dispute over leadership of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), local media has  reported.

The secretariat of Ahmed Mujuthaba, who is mediating the all-party discussions, has said that talks were expected to reconvene after the EC makes a decision over the legitimacy of a vote to remove the MDP President and Vice-President, Haveeru reported.

The latest round of all party talks, scheduled for last Saturday, were aborted after parties aligned with the government refused to recognise the legitimacy of the MDP representatives in attendance.

Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said last week that the DRP was waiting for the EC to make a decision on the legality of the MDP’s current leadership, as well as its authority to appoint representatives to the all party talks.

“[The representatives] must be properly endorsed by the party. Somebody with the authority to nominate the representative of the party, such as the president or vice president,” he said at the time.  Shareef also noted that the DRP was “unhappily” not present during Saturday’s talks.

Dr Ibrahim Didi was removed from his position as President of the MDP, as was the Vice President Alhan Fahmy, after the party’s national council voted unanimously in support of motions of no-confidence brought against them on April 30.

Two days later, Dr Didi presented an official complaint to the EC, arguing that the procedure used to remove him from power was against the rules of the version of the MDP constitution that is legally registered at the EC.

The EC announced on Sunday that it would take a further ten days to reach a decision on the MDP case, Haveeru reports.

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