Elections cannot be held for the ex-Maldives president who is now imprisoned, Abdulla Yameen

The country’s top court decided on Sunday that Abdulla Yameen, an imprisoned former leader, cannot run in next month’s presidential election. Yameen, 64, was president of the Indian Ocean island country best known for its upscale beach tourist resorts until he was found guilty in December of corruption and money laundering charges. Yameen is now serving an 11-year prison term.

The seven-member Supreme Court’s entire bench affirmed the independent Elections Commission’s decision to exclude Yameen from running in the election on September 9. A court representative informed reporters in the nation’s capital, Male, “The bench unanimously held that two constitutional provisions prohibit a criminal convict serving jail time from running for public office.”

In the hopes that Yameen may run from behind bars after making an appeal to the Supreme Court, Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has not put out a second candidate. The presidential election’s nomination deadline was initially set for August 3, but it was moved forward by four days to Monday. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president who beat Yameen in the September 2018 elections, is running for reelection.

A party source who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity said that Yameen’s PPM may now support a proxy candidate. Yameen’s PPM had intended to mount a formidable challenge against Solih.

Yameen imprisoned or exiled political people that he saw as a danger to his regime during the height of his power. He went to China and borrowed a lot of money for infrastructural projects, which infuriated India, who had previously supported the archipelago.

After Yameen was defeated in 2018, New Delhi regained its dominance by investing millions of dollars in developing roads and bridges. After his surprise loss in 2018, Yameen sought to hold onto power, but he was forced to resign after Washington threatened to impose sanctions.