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Maldives Opposition Accuses Government of Denying Access to Foreign Journalists


FILE - Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom, center, surrounded by his body guards arrives to address his supporters in Male, Maldives, Feb. 3, 2018.
FILE - Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom, center, surrounded by his body guards arrives to address his supporters in Male, Maldives, Feb. 3, 2018.

Opposition leaders in the Maldives are accusing President Abdullah Yameen of measures aimed at limiting foreign journalists entry into the country as part of a plan to steal the upcoming presidential election.

The new measures include a mandate that foreign journalists applying for a visa to enter the Indian Ocean archipelago must have a local sponsor.

The main Maldivian Democratic Party issued a statement Wednesday calling the measures "a pre-emptive cover-up of planned election fraud."

President Yameen is seeking a second five-year term in office in the September 23rd elections. His path to re-election seems assured, with his main rivals either in jail or in exile. He imposed a the state of emergency earlier this year after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to release detained political leaders.

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