Supreme Court rules against Yameen over candidacy

Supreme Court on Sunday ruled in favour of the Elections Commission's (EC) decision to reject jailed PPM presidential candidate, former President Abdulla Yameen's candidacy over the his jail sentence and unpaid fine.

After the Elections Commission (EC) on Tuesday rejected Yameen's candidacy as the PPM's presidential candidate due to his 11-year prison sentence for bribery and money laundering and an unpaid fine of USD 5 million, Yameen filed a constitutional motion at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the EC decision.

Under the election laws, Supreme Court has the final say over candidacy matters.

The court held the hearing over the motion on Friday and delivered its judgement Sunday morning. 

In the judgement, the seven judges of the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Yameen did not meet two eligibility requirements under the constitution due to his 11-year prison sentence and the unpaid fine of USD 5 million linked to his December 2022 conviction for bribery and money laundering.

The court rejected Yameen's arguments that his conviction cannot be deemed as conclusive as Yameen is yet to exhaust his appeal. It also sided with the EC in declaring that the USD 5 million fine could be deemed as declared debt, as the six-month period given by the Criminal Court for payment had expired. 

The Supreme Court also did not grant Yameen's request to grant to extend the nomination deadline, so that PPM can filed an alternate candidate in case Yameen loses his motion. 

Meanwhile, PPM's affiliate, PNC has elected Male mayor Dr Mohamed Muizz as a backup candidate, on the instructions of Yameen.

The PPM-PNC on Saturday said it would decide on Muizz’s candidacy filing after the verdict.

PPM MP from Faresmathoda constituency Hussain Mohamed Latheef has been appointed as Muizz's running mate.