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Maldives bars primary losers from elections

Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) conducts a party primary in Laamu Atoll Gan island. AVAS FILE PHOTO/AFSHEEN NASEER
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Maldives parliament Wednesday passed a government proposed amendment to the political party Act which sought to bar candidates who lose party primaries from contesting in elections independently or on another party ticket.

The amendment passed with 41 lawmakers voting in favour while 29 voting against would apply to all future elections, including local council, parliamentary and presidential elections.

The amendment by ruling party lawmaker Saud Hussain states that a “political party member who contests in a political party primary, in order to obtain the said party’s ticket for an election held sanctioned by the country's constitution and laws, must not stand in that election in any other capacity.”

If a candidate who contested a political party primary applies to contest elections in any other capacity, the elections commission must disqualify their candidacy, it states.

Saud while proposing the amendment had argued that when losing candidates contest the elections independently or on the ticket of another party, it causes "discourse between members of political parties, which then paves the way for chaos."

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