Maldives' president elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday vowed to repeal the contentious defamation law within the first 100 days of his government.
The contentious defamation law was passed in 2016 by the government controlled parliament despite widespread criticism, criminalising speech deemed to be defamatory, to comment against “any tenet of Islam”, to “threaten national security” or to “contradict general social norms”.
Those committing an offence under the law can face fines and failure to pay the fine will result in jail sentence of three to six months.
During a visit to the privately-run television station Sangu TV on Monday, Solih highlighted the challenges faced by local media due to the defamation law.
"We will look to repeal the law within the first 100 days of our government," Solih promised the station's staff.
The president elected also noted that pivotal role free media are entrusted to play in ensuring sustained democracy adding that media was the "heartbeat" of a vibrant democracy.
Solih is set to be sworn in as the seventh president of the crisis-hit island nation which is expected on November 17 after the country's apex court rejected defeated president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's bid to annul last month's presidential elections on Sunday.
Yameen lost the September 23 election by a margin of 16 percent to opposition alliance candidate Solih, in an outcome hailed as a win for democracy in the crisis-hit archipelago.
The result was widely accepted, including by the United States, China, India, and the European Union.
Yameen conceded defeat a day after the election but had alleged widespread irregularities in the vote.
