Meekail Ahmed Naseem has announced his decision to contest the vacant post of Chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Saturday.  
In a post on X, Meekail announced that he has decided to contest the upcoming MDP Chairman’s election and asked for the cooperation and support of the party members.  
Meekail is one of the youngest Members of Parliament. He was first elected to the 19th Parliament of the Maldives as a representative of the Galolhu South Constituency. He then defended his seat for a second term and won a seat in the 20th Parliament of the Maldives.  
When he decided to contest for the post of MDP Chairman, Meekail was one of the most defended and advocated members of the party in Parliament.  
Fayyaz, who took over as the MDP Chairman on May 23, 2022, announced his resignation at the party’s National Assembly session on Sunday evening.  
In a letter addressed to the MDP National Assembly members, Fayyaz wrote that he took over the post with sweet hopes. He said he had done a lot to resolve the differences among the party leaders and shared some of the difficulties in running the party.  
MDP's chairperson Fayyaz Ismail. (Sun Photo/Moosa Nadheem)
After Fayyaz's resignation, the MDP National Assembly held a session yesterday to appoint an interim chairman. It is learned that two names were attempted for the post: former Hithadhoo North Member of Parliament Mohamed Aslam and former Dhidhdhoo Member of Parliament Abdullah Waheed.  
Aslam’s nomination was discussed by the faction that supports former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Waheed submitted his name from the faction that supports former President Mohamed Nasheed.  
However, Aslam's name was not submitted. MDP Legal Director Mohamed Mauroof recommended that the interim chairman be an elected member of the National Assembly.  
Then Waheed's name was proposed to take over the responsibilities of the post temporarily but he was not elected.  
Waheed received 47 votes in favor of being appointed as the interim chairman. However, 48 votes are required to be approved. So he was not selected either. After the vote, the session was adjourned on the grounds that the system was lost.