Nasheed quits MDP

Mohamed Nasheed, one of the founders of MDP and the pro-democracy movement, resigned from the oldest and largest political party in Maldives on Wednesday.

Nasheed, who is trying to form a new party called The Democrats despite being the MDP president, quit the party in a handwritten letter to party chairperson Fayyaz Ismail.

Nasheed, who also serves as the speaker of parliament, said he quit the party after observing "the way things are unfolding in the Maldives at the moment".

"... Since I don't think it's the right thing for me to remain in the party, please be informed that I'm quitting the party," Nasheed said.

Nasheed's decision comes two days after he said on Monday that he had no plans to leave the party yet and wanted to "take over" the party.

Meanwhile, registration of The Democrats has stalled as Elections Commission (EC) is unable to convene a formal meeting due to lack of quorum. Two of the five-member commission has refused to attend meetings citing non-confidence in chair Fuad Thaufeeq and further checks into the membership forms submitted by The Democrats, while another is abroad on Hajj pilgrimage.

Ever since he lost to his long-time ally President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential primaries held in January, Nasheed has been leading a separate faction within MDP.

The faction has now turned into a separate party, with those leading the party's founding saying The Democrats will field a candidate for the upcoming elections.