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President Solih and Speaker Nasheed at the MDP Congress held in August 2022. Dhauru Photo/Abdullah Yashau

Solih, Nasheed work on peace deal ahead of party primary

The hassle in the party's presidential primaries is stuck in the contest between the two presidents.

13 December 2022

By Ahmed Naif

With less than a month to go for the presidential elections, the country's largest political party and the ruling MDP is still struggling to present its presidential candidate to the public. The biggest obstacle to this is the political rivalry between President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Speaker of the Parliament and party President Mohamed Nasheed. 

Reliable sources from MDP confirmed that the party's leadership's concerns about what will happen to MDP if a primary is announced and a vote is cast in the heat, is one of the reasons for the delay in issuing a date for the presidential primary.

The talks are going on in both sides so that MDP can stand together for the presidential race.

A senior MDP member

According to the party's inner circle, the date of the presidential primary will be announced without further delay. A senior party functionary, who did not wish to be named, said efforts have been made to minimise the party's internal incursions before giving a date for the primaries.

"We are in discussions, especially with President Solih, if Nasheed can settle for other agreements instead of running for the primary alongside," he said.

"This week, President Solih is trying to talk to President Nasheed so that the two can reach an agreement. The president is still saying that he will try to take things forward peacefully till the last moment," he said.

According to party sources, President Solih's aim is to reach an agreement with Nasheed where he will not run in the primaries. Otherwise, he said, the president's goal was to reach an agreement that would allow the two leaders to work together after the primary, even if Nasheed contested.

"The talks are going on in both sides so that MDP can stand together for the presidential race," the official said.

While the talks have not reached any points yet, sources in the party's leadership said the party would announce the dates for the presidential primaries this week or next week. It was also noted that the delay in the primary date was already an internal concern of the party.

"The upcoming presidential race will not be easy for MDP. Therefore, it is important to start the campaign shown by a candidate who finishes the primary. Hence, there is a growing emphasis at various levels within the party not to delay the date," said a party official.

The first discussion within the party was to hold the primary this month. Then at the last minute, they decided to hold it next year. They tried twice to announce the dates of the primary and that too was delayed.

MDP has officially maintained that the party's presidential primaries are not delayed. It defended the party's decision, saying it is their way to start campaigning for primaries closer to the presidential election.

The reality is that the primaries of the single largest political party have indeed been delayed. The hassle in the party's presidential primaries is stuck in the contest between the two presidents. The internal voices in the party are now that there will be no further delay in issuing a date again. 

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