Faced with a mammoth election schedule of its own, India will not be sending a poll observer team for the Maldives Parliamentary vote, which has seen the Supreme Court remove two top Election Commission officials, and a bitter campaign. On December 22, Maldivians will be going to the polls for the second time to elect their representatives to the 77-member Majlis. However, unlike the presidential polls for which India had sent a high-powered delegation of former Chief Election Commissioners, this time there will be no separate team.
“The Maldives Elections Commission had invited our Election Commission to observe the polls. But the Election Commission is very busy managing the current schedule, so we have declined,” said a senior government official. Meanwhile, a European Union observer team has already reached in the country.
India has a high stake in the stability of the strategic Indian ocean island nation, which had seemed to be returning to normalcy after a highly controversial presidential polls last year.