New presidential candidate announced

Male, July 1: Maldives’ main opposition party has named veteran lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as its presidential candidate after former president Mohamed Nasheed withdrew his candidacy, authorities said on Sunday. At a meeting held on Saturday, the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) amended its charter to award the party ticket to Solih, reports Xinhua news agency. The MDP unanimously voted in favour of Solih as Nasheed’s replacement. On Friday, Nasheed withdrew his nominate for the “betterment” of his party. He had applied to run for the election slated to take place on September 23 but his nomination was rejected by the Election Commission as he faces terrorism charges. The Commission said last month that anyone convicted of a criminal offence could not legally contest in a political party’s presidential primary, warning that such elections would be annulled. (IANS)