Nasheed rejoins MDP, predicts 20% for govt in council elections
During his speech, Nasheed said that the country must be “returned to the Maldivian people.”
Former President Mohamed Nasheed rejoined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Monday evening and said President Mohamed Muizzu’s government will receive only 20 percent of the vote in the upcoming local council elections.
Nasheed made the remarks during a rally held at Sultan Park to mark his return to the party. He left the MDP on 21 July 2023 and later formed a new political party, The Democrats.
Addressing party members, Nasheed said the MDP would win 80 percent of the seats in the next local council elections. He named councils across the country and stated that the MDP must aim to secure all 194 island councils.
“This local council election will hopefully be taken by us [MDP] big, big, big. I am saying this tonight, President Muizzu, calculate. 20 percent for you,” Nasheed said.
He added that MDP must aim to regain control of councils in Malé City, Addu City, Kulhudhuffushi, Thinadhoo, Fuvahmulah, and other constituencies across the country.
During his speech, Nasheed said that the country must be “returned to the Maldivian people.”
Nasheed, who played a key role in the MDP campaign during previous elections, also influenced the 2023 presidential election. President Muizzu, who contested under the “Dhivehinge Raajje” slogan, won the second round against then-incumbent and MDP candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, following Nasheed’s decision to form a separate political group.
Speaking on his return to the MDP, Nasheed said he was pleased to be back.
“The joy, the satisfaction, the smile that comes from coming home again, I will never forget. Thank you very, very much,” he said, thanking MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail, Party President Abdulla Shahid, and members of the party’s national assembly.
Nasheed stated that he had spent his political career in service of the MDP and expressed his hope for future electoral success for the party.
