Mohamed Sinan, who recently lost his seat as the MP for Hithadhoo North due to a debt, has announced his intention to contest the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) primary for the upcoming by-election.
Sinan announced his candidacy for the ruling party’s primary in a social media post yesterday.
"With the grace of Almighty Allah, I, Mohamed Sinan of Hulhudhoo'aage', S. Hithadhoo, am pleased to announce my decision to contest the People’s National Congress (PNC) primary for the Hithadhoo North by-election," the post read.
Supreme Court ousts MP Sinan over bank debt
The Supreme Court has ousted MP Mohamed Sinan from the People’s Majlis. The bench dismissed claims that he was unaware of the judgment to settle a debt, marking the first time a member of the 20th Majlis has been disqualified by the apex court.
This week, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Sinan had lost his parliamentary seat. The court found that he had failed to settle a decreed debt in accordance with a lower court judgment. The bench was presided over by Justice Aisha Shujune Muhammad.
"He is hereby disqualified from his position as a Member of the People’s Majlis. It is determined that Mohamed Sinan has lost his seat due to his failure to settle a proven debt in accordance with the judgment issued by the Hithadhoo Court," Shujune stated.
Her opinion was supported by Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain, Justice Dr Mohamed Ibrahim, Justice Hussein Shaheed, and Justice Mohamed Saleem.
This marks the first time a member of the 20th People’s Majlis has lost their seat following a ruling by the apex court.
The case seeking Sinan’s disqualification was filed after it emerged that he had failed to settle payments as mandated by a court order regarding a MVR 3.8 million loan taken from the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).
The Elections Commission (EC) has scheduled the Hithadhoo North by-election for June 6. The deadline for filing nominations to contest the election is 3:00 pm on April 29.
According to the Constitution, if a seat in the People’s Majlis becomes vacant, a by-election must be held within 60 days to fill the vacancy.
