Pres meets Gasim for runoff coalition talks

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih met with Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim at his Sun Island Resort Wednesday afternoon to discuss forming a coalition in the second round of the presidential election.

Official results of Saturday's presidential election show main opposition PPM-PNC's Dr Mohamed Muizz leading the polls with 46%, while President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih secured 39%.

To win outright, a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes. As no candidate crossed the threshold, a runoff between the top two contenders will take place on September 30.

President Solih and Gasim are meeting at the request of the president.

Gasim greeted President Solih as he exited Gasim's Villa Air aircraft which landed at Adh. Maamigili Airport, owned and operated by Gasim's Villa Group, around 4:15pm. The pair then travelled to the nearby Sun Island Resort on a speedboat. 

The JP council meeting scheduled to be held Wednesday evening to decide on the coalition in the runoff has also been postponed due to the meeting between President Solih and Gasim. 

JP is a coalition partner in the incumbent government but contested separately in the election held on Saturday. Before the party decided to contest separately, it was expected to renew its 2018 coalition deal with MDP for a second term.

Gasim, who finished fourth and third in the 2008 and 2013 presidential election, respectively, finished fifth  with 5,545 votes in Saturday's election. That is even lower than that of former home minister Umar Naseer, who contested as an independent candidate.