Ex-Pres calls for party unity after opposition primary

Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)’s acting president and former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged all of his party candidates contesting in the upcoming parliamentary primary to work together in the future.

A total 149 candidates contested in 40 constituencies in the primary held on Saturday to determine the candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The party has already given tickets to 48 candidates without a primary.

Eleven incumbent MDP MPs contested the primary on Saturday, three of whom lost out on a ticket.

The provisional results of the primary have been announced. Solih congratulated the winners of the primary in a post on X. He also thanked all the party members who came to vote and contributed to conduct the primary smoothly.

“It is essential that all those who contested the primary work together to win the parliamentary elections,” he wrote in his post.

In the 19th parliamentary elections, MDP won 65 seats and secured a supermajority in the parliament. This time, the MDP is contesting the parliamentary elections as an opposition party.

Thirteen members of the party have recently joined the ruling PNC. Former President Mohamed Nasheed has also formed a new political party called The Democrats with former members of MDP. However, he has now stepped away from politics, and is Secretary General at the Climate Vulnerable Forum, based in Ghana now.