European Union (EU) has called on the Maldivian parliament to reform Article 9 and Article 73 of the Maldivian constitution. The recommendation was made by the Election Follow-up Mission (EFM), that visited Maldives from January 8-11, 2018.
According to the EU the recommendations were made, as Article 9 of the Maldivian constitution stipulates that one be a Muslim to be a citizen and vote and Article 73 of the Maldivian constitution stipulates that one be a Sunni Muslim citizen to stand for election.
The report also includes recommendations to the Maldivian parliament, Elections Commssion, Maldives Police Service and other authorities in addition to media.
The European Union (EU) on an invitation of Maldives, deployed an Election Follow-up Mission (EFM) in two phases. Phase 1 took place from September 7 -19, 2017 and comprised of two electoral experts. Phase 2 was carried out by a mission which consisted of the Chief Observer, representatives of the EU's European External Action Service (EEAS), and the two experts, from January 8-11, 2018.
During the Phase 2, the EFM held meetings with representatives of the authorities, including the Elections Commission (EC), the Attorney General (AG), the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister of Gender and Family, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of State for Finance and Treasury and Chief of the Department of National Registration, political parties, media and civil society. The EFM also met representatives of the international community.