British Ambassador to the Maldives James Dauris has stressed on the importance of next year’s presidential elections being free and fair.

In a New Year’s message published on the British government’s website, Dauris said that the UK hopes that ‘that the election and the whole election process will be fair, and that voters will have a free choice’.

In his message, Ambassador Dauris also said that there have been decisions made in the country that worry him.

“The freedoms to speak, to write, to meet, to justice, to choose are ones that should really matter, to all of us. We are hoping that we will see these freedoms start to flourish again in the coming year” the message, uploaded as a speech and transcribed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

Dauris had recently criticized the government’s decision, where it ordered local government council to refrain from meeting foreign officials without prior permission. He called it the ‘latest unfortunate step’ in the Maldives.

Further, the ambassador’s message also reflected the opinions of environmentalists and sustainability advocates who have spoken out against development projects that involve heavy reclamation and means that have a heavy environmental impact.

“Experiences of countries around the world show us that coral reefs destroyed are impossible to replace, areas of mangrove bulldozed almost impossible to re-establish” Dauris also said.

In his speech, ambassador also reflected on the closeness between the two countries and the support offered in anti-terrorism, education, tourism, and rights – namely gender equality.