Democrats says couldn't have helped Solih win election

Hassan Latheef, President of the Democrats party, said on Sunday that with internal divisions that weakened the then ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), loyalists of former President Mohamed Nasheed never saw incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s re-election as a viable outcome.

The rifts within the MDP began after Nasheed lost the party’s presidential primary. Following the defeat, Nasheed and his faction openly criticised the Solih administration, leading to tensions that culminated in Nasheed’s supporters leaving the party.

This fracture eventually prompted Nasheed and his allies to form a new political party, the Democrats.

According to Hassan Latheef, dissatisfaction with the Solih government was long-standing among Nasheed's loyalists. 

"Our absence was also due to what happened for a long time. We didn’t just watch it overnight," Latheef explained, indicating that the split was not an impulsive decision but the result of unresolved disagreements over how the government was being managed.

At Saturday's MDP councillors conference held in Haa Dhaalu Kulhudhuffushi, a councillor raised concerns about the election outcome.

In response, MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail said the party’s defeat in the November 2023 presidential election could have been avoided if it had not splintered at the last moment.

Reflecting on this, Latheef stated that despite Nasheed's absence, it was unlikely the MDP would have won under Solih’s leadership. 

“The way the president’s government was running, even within the MDP, we couldn’t see where votes would come from," said Latheef, criticising Solih's governance. 

He added that even with Nasheed’s involvement, he could not envision a path to victory for Solih in the presidential race.

Latheef also acknowledged Fayyaz’s efforts to reconcile the two factions within the MDP. 

"Fayyaz was one of the people who encouraged us to work together. At that time, President Solih and President Nasheed almost reached an agreement. But later, cooperation from Solih's side faltered, and we had no choice but to leave," Latheef said.

In the first round of the 2023 presidential election, Democrats candidate Ilyas Labeeb emerged as a surprising contender, winning more votes than anticipated. President Solih, representing the MDP, finished second.

However, the Democrats opted to remain neutral in the second round, not endorsing any candidate. After the election, Nasheed publicly stated his support for the winning candidate.

Despite their efforts, Latheef admitted it would be difficult for the Democrats' activists to secure electoral success immediately.

“Even Nasheed, with all his influence, can only do so much in terms of campaigning. Winning will still be a challenge for us,” he remarked.

However, he emphasised that the absence of Nasheed’s supporters would inevitably hurt the MDP’s prospects going forward.

Mohamed Nasheed, a founding figure of the MDP, served as the party’s leader for nearly 15 years. He was the party’s presidential candidate in 2008, 2013, and 2018, though he could not contest the 2018 election due to legal barriers.

Solih secured the presidency under the MDP’s banner that year, but internal friction between him and Nasheed only grew as Solih consolidated his leadership.