Former President Abdulla Yameen has stated that the current government will not hold the 2020 Local Council Election as planned.
Yameen made these remarks while speaking at an opposition rally held by the progressive coalition Friday night.
Speaking at the event, the former president said the government pulls the wool over the citizen's eyes ahead of elections, and behaved in the same manner ahead of the parliamentary elections.
While the government continues to follow the same strategy in preparing for the local council election, the government will not be holding the election next year, predicted Yameen.
"Once again they [the government] are trying to deceive us, with the local council election closing in. They will not hold it [the election]. Do they think they have the people's support? They don't. The [presidential] election was stolen from us," the former president said.
Yameen claimed that the presidential election was rigged, and accused that the election was "stolen". He said the fact that the ballots used in the election were destroyed while the police were looking into electoral fraud is evidence enough to support the claim.
"Police commenced their investigation into the election. Did they not get rid of the ballots right infront of our eyes once police started looking into it? It seems no one is aware of this. There is not one who raised any concerns against this," he said.
Elections Commission has announced that the local council election will be held within the first week of April 2020.
The most recent local council election was held following several delays back in 2017, under Abdulla Yameen's reign. The election was delayed upon request of then-ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
