The European Union (EU) has said that it will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives despite speaker Mohamed Nasheed's request to pursue the transfer of former President Abdulla Yameen to house arrest.

European Parliament Member Nacho Sánchez Amor, who heads the delegation sent by the EU to observe the upcoming presidential election, met Nasheed on Tuesday. During the meeting, Nasheed sought help in shifting Yameen to his home in order to ensure a fair and free election.

When quizzed by reporters on whether the EU will be taking any action to pursue this request, Nacho said they had come to the Maldives only to observe the elections.

"We have come here to observe the elections, so we will not speak on the internal affairs of the country, we will not do anything like that. In particular, President Yameen's case is in court and we will not meddle in judicial affairs," Nacho said.

He said that the team involved in monitoring the presidential election is the largest team sent by the EU to the Maldives so far and that the team has already started the process of observing the presidential election. He said the EU would observe the election until the counting of votes was over.

Nacho said the EU's objective of observing the presidential election was to ensure that the elections were free and fair, to ensure that candidates had equal opportunities to campaign, and to closely monitor the election process.

It will also look into voter registration, state institution matters, campaign expenses and role of NGOs, he said.