Opposition warns Pres Solih's impeachment over Chagos dispute

The opposition PPM-PNC coalition said on Monday that it will begin the process of impeaching President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih over his letter to Mauritian prime minister acknowledging the sovereignty of Mauritius over Chagos. 

At Monday evening's press conference, the question "If opposition leader, former President AbdullaYameen is not free or if there is a situation where he cannot contest the upcoming presidential election, then what will the PPM act?" was directed at the leadership.

PPM deputy leader, Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam said the Elections Commission had not said that Yameen would not be able to contest the September 9 presidential election. Elections Commission President Fuad Taufeeg told Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who is temporarily in charge of the opposition coalition, that there was no bar on Yameen to run, he said.

Shiyam said it would be better to ask whether President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had a second plan than to question whether PPM had any other plan. He said he should say so because the manner in which President Solih has acted during his tenure raises questions about the completion of the term.

"We are starting the process of impeaching President Solih. That's what the people of the country want him to do today," Shiyam said.

The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Friday sided with the Maldives in the dispute with Mauritius surrounding the delimitation of the maritime boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the Maldives and the Chagos archipelago, awarding a bigger portion to the Maldives. 

ITLOS noted that the size of the relevant area is calculated to be approximately 92,563 sqkm. The delimitation line allocates to Mauritius 45,331 sqkm and to the Maldives 47,232 sqkm.