MDP proposes govt system referendum post-election
Democrats interim chairman Hassan Latheef told Atoll Times that the MDP has not yet made such an official proposal.
Ruling MDP, which is in talks with speaker Mohamed Nasheed's Democrats to form a coalition in the second round of the presidential election, has offered a counter proposal to hold a referendum on changing the system of governance from presidential to parliamentary, MDP chairperson Fayyaz Ismail said Monday.
The Democrats, whose candidate MP Ilyas Labeeb finished third in the first round of the presidential election September 9 with about 15,000 votes, has conditioned a referendum on governance system on September 25 -- four days before the presidential runoff on September 30 -- for a coalition.
When asked about the proposal, Fayyaz said MDP has given a counter offer to hold the referendum after the presidential election.
However, Democrats interim chairman Hassan Latheef told Atoll Times that the MDP has not yet made such an official proposal.
Meanwhile, former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence over the MMPRC corruption scandal, has denied Nasheed’s request to meet to discuss on holding a public referendum on changing system of governance from presidential to parliamentary.
Talks over a runoff coalition with Yameen's PPM-PNC have stalled as they refused to sign an agreement on the referendum.
Results of the September 9 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. A runoff between the top two contenders will take place on September 30.
