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.