Shahid begins effort to build support for MDP presidential primary
Former Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail remains the only person to have publicly announced his intention to contest the MDP presidential primary.
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Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) President Abdulla Shahid has begun meeting party members and supporters as he prepares for a possible bid in the party's presidential primary.
The MDP has not yet announced the primary to select its candidate for the 2028 presidential election. However, party sources said Shahid has long been interested in contesting and has started work to build support.
Shahid, who previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly and Speaker of the 17th People's Majlis, has not publicly declared his candidacy.
According to party sources, he has spent the past two to three weeks holding meetings with individuals and groups to seek support for the primary.
Those attending the meetings include party officials, elected representatives and youth groups.
Supporters of Shahid have also begun promoting his potential candidacy on social media, with Shahid reposting some of the messages on X.
In previous press conferences, Shahid declined to say whether he would contest the primary, stating instead that his priority was to hold the government accountable and work towards the party's success in the local council elections.
Dhauru sought comment from Shahid on Wednesday regarding his plans, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
However, people close to Shahid confirmed that preparations for his campaign are underway.
"Although the campaign has not officially started, efforts to gather support are ongoing. Everyone knows Shahid intends to contest the primary," a person close to Shahid told Dhauru. "The plan was to begin this work after the local council elections."
Former Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail remains the only person to have publicly announced his intention to contest the MDP presidential primary. However, he has not yet begun campaigning.
Several other party members are also understood to be considering a bid for the MDP presidential nomination, although none has made a public announcement.
