Meekail congratulates Nasheed, pledges to work for MDP victory in 2028

Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem has congratulated former President Mohamed Nasheed on his victory in the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson election and pledged to work with him to secure a party victory in the 2028 presidential election.

In a social media post on Friday night, Meekail said he had spoken with Nasheed to congratulate him on the outcome of the election.

"Furthermore, we will work with a renewed resolve to keep the MDP united and ensure victory for this party in 2028. I will always stand with the general members of the party," Meekail said.

The chairperson election was held six months after former chairperson Fayyaz Ismail resigned from the post.

Three candidates contested the election: former President Mohamed Nasheed, Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem and MDP member Ibrahim Mohamed (Wade).

According to provisional results, Nasheed secured more than 67 per cent of the votes counted so far. Meekail received about 32 per cent, while Ibrahim secured less than one per cent.

Meekail also thanked his campaign team and party members who supported his candidacy throughout the election.

Voting began at 2:30 pm on Friday and continued until 9:00 pm. Polling was initially scheduled to close at 8:30 pm, but the deadline was extended by 30 minutes due to weather conditions that affected travel to polling stations.

The election period was marked by disputes at some polling locations. In GDh. Fiyoari, a ballot box was broken open, while in F. Feeali, a ballot box was removed before voting concluded.

The party has decided to invalidate the votes cast at those two locations and hold fresh voting at a later date.

However, based on the current margin between the candidates, the outstanding votes are not expected to alter the overall result of the election.

Nasheed's victory marks his return to a senior leadership position within the MDP after rejoining the party last year following his departure in 2023.