Faris secures signatures to run as independent candidate

MRM president Faris Maumoon has secured the required number of signatures to contest the presidential election as an independent candidate, but will first submit his form to the Elections Commission (EC) on the party ticket, the MRM said on Tuesday.

The MRM's sole candidate for the presidential primary, Faris, began collecting the required number of signatures last week to contest the presidential election on his own, as the party's dissolution case is pending in court.

MRM Secretary General Aleem Abdullah Aleem told Atoll Times that Faris has already reached the required number of 1,500 signatures to submit to the EC.

"We will submit our candidacy form [first] in the name of MRM. However, we are getting signatures to contest independently in case it is rejected," Aleem said.

He said he did not believe there was any obstacle to Faris contesting in the name of the party as the court had ordered to stay the dissolution of the MRM. However, he said the support signatures were signed in order to be prepared for such a situation.

According to Article 9(c) of the Presidential Election Act:

The MRM opened nominations for the presidential primary on July 25 to select its candidate for the September 9 presidential election.

Referring to the party's charter, Aleem said the ticket would be confirmed with the approval of the council even if a primary was not held.

“A decision will be taken at the council meeting [Wednesday] night,” he said.

The Elections Commission decided in May to dissolve MRM as it failed to secure the 3,000 members required by the law. However, the party went to the Civil Court, which issued a stay order pending a final judgement.

The court ruled in favour of MRM when the EC moved for review of the court order.

The MRM has previously accused the government of influencing its dissolution. However, the government denies this.