Pro-Nasheed MPs form independent PG group; to seek JP backing
Eva said JP makes a coalition real and president Solih has no personal burden on winning the election since JP had decided to contest on its own.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Among the two factions within the ruling MDP, lawmakers supporting Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday began officially working separately from the party's official Parliamentary Group (PG) and announced their plans to begin discussions to form a joint PG group with Jumhooree Party (JP) lawmakers.
The meeting, which used the name of Nasheed's Fikuregge Dhirun movement, was attended by 10 pro-Nasheed lawmakers. They are:
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Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim
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North Galolhu MP and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Eva Abdulla
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Maafannu North MP Imtiyaz Fahmi
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Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Rasheed
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Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb
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Maafannu Central MP Ibrahim Rasheed
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Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed
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Henveiru West MP Hassan Latheef
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Villufushi MP Hassan Afeef
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Kulhudhuffushi North MP Yasir Abdul Latheef
During the meeting, Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed said that they disagreed with the government not because of the recently concluded MDP presidential primaries.
"These differences have started brewing within the party's parliamentary group long ago," he said, pointing out that the party has not been able to fulfil many of the things it had planned and said to do during its 2019 parliamentary election campaign.
Waheed also submitted a resolution to the meeting, calling for the withdrawal of president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government's policies not in line with MDP’s ideology and values.
While moving the resolution, Waheed said:
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It is the party's ideology to seek people's opinion in formulating policies of the government, but this government has not done so.
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During the election campaign, the party said it would live-stream its PG meetings, but did not do so; it was a pleasure to live-stream the meeting organised by the Fikuregge Dhirun PG Group held on Tuesday night.
During the meeting, Ali Azim, who was earlier the leader of the party's official PG group, said that he was planning to form a PG group with the Jumhooree Party. He said the talks will begin on Wednesday with JP, who has a total of five MPs in parliament, and in the future, a parliament that is in control of the Fikuregge Dhirun will be seen.
Eva welcomed the Jumhooree Party's decision to contest the upcoming presidential election separately on Tuesday. OnJP’s decision not to go ahead with President Solih in the upcoming elections and contest separately, Eva said that the party's members now know that MDP will not be able to win the elections with President Solih.
"That's what President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is saying that he is the coalition candidate. And when he first announced himself as candidate, he said he will rule with a coalition," Eva said.
She said JP makes a coalition real and president Solih has no personal burden on winning the election since JP had decided to contest on its own.
