Former Commissioner received ticket against regulation, says JP council members

Some members of government aligned Jumhoory Party’s (JP) governing council has said the Kinbidhoo constituency parliamentary ticket was awarded to former Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz against party regulation.

Riyaz was awarded the ticket soon after he signed for the party today. When asked about the process, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim said that the party has the authority to grant tickets to capable candidates without holding primaries.

Speaking to Sun later today, JP’s Legal Secretary and Council Member Mohamed Haleem said that parliamentary tickets have to be approved by the council, even for sitting MPs.

There are procedures to select parliamentary candidates, where a special committee has to evaluate the interested applicants, and the applicants must also be approved by the party council, he said.

The party’s call for applications for 19 primary tickets expired at 4:00 p.m. today. According to procedure, Riyaz should not have recieved the Kinbidhoo ticket, said Haleem.

JP Spokesperson Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan said today that he has also applied for the Kinbidhoo ticket. He does not believe the ticket has been given to former Commissioner Riyaz, insisted Dr Hassan.