The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has announced that it will clear the record of candidates of the parliamentary election within 24 hours of receiving the request.
The PGO stated that if a person does not have a criminal record, their record can be cleared within five minutes of submitting the request. If the candidate has a criminal record, it will be cleared within 24 hours. The PGO also stated that it will resolve further issues that arise while the criminal record is being cleared. Individuals with further inquiries should contact the Prosecutor's Office.
The parliamentary election is scheduled for March 17 and political parties are preparing to hold their primaries to choose their candidates. The Elections commission of the Maldives (ECM) has urged candidates to clear their criminal and debt records at the earliest convenience. ECM highlighted that clearing records takes time and urged political parties to begin clearing the records of their candidates at the earliest convenience in order to streamline the process, given the increasing number of candidates participating in elections.