Nasheed's Democrats join PPM to 'end President Solih's rule'

The opposition PPM/PNC coalition and The Democrats, a breakaway political party being formed former MDP president Mohamed Nasheed, on Sunday announced an alliance to work together to end the rule of President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih.

The Democrats ave already announced that they will take to the streets with the opposition PPM.

On Sunday, the two parties held their first formal discussion on working together.

After the meeting held at Nasheed's Ocean Library in Male, representatives of the two parties told reporters that the are working together to see what needs to be done to end the government of President Solih.

"We have started the process of removing [President Solih]. It is a very historic day today. With the PPM/PNC and The Democrats, this will move forward," Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam, who is also a vice president of PPM, said.

The Democrats said the way things are being done by the government is unacceptable and they started work with the PPM/PNC to do what is necessary to end it.

“We, The Democrats, have started the discussions to find out what we need to do together to end the government of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,” Henveiru Central MP Ali Azim said.

A committee comprising representatives of both sides has been set up for further negotiations, they announced.

The Democrats will be represented by:

The PPM will be represented by:

Despite the new alliance, The Democrats and the PPM said they will nominate their own candidates.

The PPM candidate, former President Abdulla Yameen, is currently serving a jail sentence, while Nasheed is yet to formally announce his candidacy.

When asked whether the two parties would change their stance for the upcoming presidential election, Shiyam said the PPM/PNC will field Yameen as its candidate. The party's principles for nominating a candidate will not change, he said.

"We will work together on what we work together on. Now, the most important task is to remove President Solih. How far we can work with the Democrats to remove President Solih. We recognise that," he said.

Azim did not give a clear answer on the Democrats' views on the matter. He said the Democrats were ready to do whatever it took to remove President Solih from power. However, the work will be done according to the principles accepted by the party, he said.