Calm, silent Muizz clinches presidency

“Actually, Muizz is very strong. Thats how he got the mayorship of Male,” a senior PPM official said in an interview I took for a report I wrote a year ago.

Dr Mohamed Muizz has expressed his strength in the presidential election victory over President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday evening. This is a rare development of a man who has been a complete academic all his life, and even in politics, had not been very vocal or powerful within the party.

Two months ago, Muizz was still in the shadows about what others were saying about his ambitions. He did not say he would contest the presidential election. However on August 3, he won the PNC ticket after having signed up for the party the same day after  former President Abdullah Yameen had instructed his followers to elect a PNC candidate.

Then we saw his political power growing day by day and gaining popularity among the people.

Even though he had about a month to campaign, he won a huge victory in the first round, and brought hope to PPM-PNC supporters that they could defeat President Solih in the second round.

Although the PPM coalition had handed over the presidential ticket to Yameen, he is unlikely to contest with the 11-year jail sentence hanging over him. Two days before the deadline for contesting the presidential election, the Supreme Court declared Yameen ineligible. Even then, PPM leadership did not endorse Muizz. Regardless, he did not appear nonplussed by any of the 'ignoring' he had to face. He was seen working with everyone to win the election.

Muizz's father, the late Hussain Abdul Rahman, was a top notch religious scholar among all of his feather in the Haa Alifu atoll. Muizz's uncle and younger brother to his father, the deceased Adam Abdul Rahman (Adam Kaleyfaanu) was also a prominent religious scholar in the region. 

“There is no one in this country who knows the law that well,” said Hassan Abdul Rahman, Adam Kaleyfaanu's said.

Hassan, who lives in Vashafaru, told Atoll Times on Saturday that it is a great honor to have a political figure like Adam Kaleyfaanu in his family and it is also a great pleasure and honor for a scholar like Hussain to belong to that family.

Finally, we now see a member of the family becoming the President of Maldives.

Muizz’s mother is from the capital city Male. However, shortly after Muizz's birth, his father and mother divorced. Muizz also spent years in Vashafaru under the care of his paternal grandmother. He then came to Male and completed his primary grades with his mother. Then he moved to his father's house in Male, M.Dhimyath.

Muizz was one of the best students in primary, secondary and A levels. He did his first degree in the UK on a Presidential scholarship. He then took his Masters and PhD in Civil Engineering in the UK.

However, it was not expected for him to follow in the footsteps of his Uncle Adam Kaleyfaanu, who was the atoll chief and represented the atoll in the parliament for several years.

He was appointed as the Housing Minister in the government of former President Mohammed Waheed. Then he was the same minister, during the presidency of President Abdullah Yameen. His first election is the 2021 council election. There was doubt that the mayoralty of the city, can be taken away from the MDP by a PPM candidate. However, he won the election and became Mayor of Male.

The PPM’s majority in the city council was a huge revival for the party’s political movement. For Muizz, it was an opportunity to take his political career beyond. He worked towards the destination from there, some PPM members said.

Muizz has been controlling things so that he can win a primary within the PPM or a vote in the Senate if Yameen cannot contest the presidential election. The only difference is that he did not express his hope in public.

ަ"Muizz has been very patient in getting this opportunity," said a source close to him, who declined to be named at this time.

"Muizz knows how to do this. How to go forward”.

The result, is 53% of the vote. He received 126,000 votes, while President Solih has received 108,000 votes or 46%.

This is an extraordinary achievement for a man who has been so quiet in politics and has paved his way without saying too much.