MDP to hold 20th anniversary run in Malé on 25 July
According to the MDP, the organisers were only permitted to use an area in Phase 2 of Hulhumalé, despite submitting two requests for broader access.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced that it will hold a run in Malé on 25 July to mark its 20th anniversary, following the party's claim that it was barred from organising a planned run in Hulhumalé on 18 July.
The MDP, the main opposition party in the Maldives, celebrated its 20th anniversary last month and had planned various events throughout the year. Among them was a nationwide run titled Run Yellow, initially scheduled for 18 July.
At a press conference held at the MDP office on Wednesday, former party chairperson Hassan Latheef, former Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, and party legal committee member Aik Ahmed Esa stated that Housing Development Corporation (HDC) had denied permission to hold the run in Hulhumalé, citing its political nature.
According to the MDP, the organisers were only permitted to use an area in Phase 2 of Hulhumalé, despite submitting two requests for broader access.
“The 26th is Independence Day and guests from across the country will be arriving in Malé. If they interfere with our run on the 18th, we will instead hold the run on the 25th to observe the level of freedom available,” Mariya Ahmed Didi said, encouraging widespread public participation. The event will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Hassan Latheef stated that the run would take place in Malé and will feature a flag commemorating the party’s 20-year history. The same flag will be hoisted at the rally on 25 July.
Latheef added that following the rally, the MDP plans to carry the commemorative light symbol across all inhabited islands in the Maldives by April next year.
