Former President and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed said on Thursday that he is running in Maldives Democratic Party's (MDP) primary election despite the injuries sustained in the assassination attempt and other political grievances because he cannot let just about anything happen to the party.
Speaking at the campaign event held in Gaafu Alifu atoll, Dhevvadhoo, Nasheed said if things were going well, he would not be contesting in the primary election.
"I am not lacking in scars on my body. Nor am I at a loss for what to do. The injuries I have received is not few either. However, I still cannot let go," Nasheed said, explaining why he was running for the primary election.
He said if the government was running the country for the betterment of the people, the last year of the presidential term should be a resourceful year. However, this year has become tough because of the unsustainable policies of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
President Solih is Speaker Nasheed's rival the MDP primary election.
Nasheed noted that the year kicked off with an increase in GST, which increased the prices of goods. He said all of this was happening because of Solih's coalition policies, and that they were hurting the public.
Seeing the news of New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's resignation, he connected it to the current administration by MDP. Nasheed said Ardern resigned for the betterment of her party.
According to Nasheed, the best way forward for MDP would be if Solih stepped aside.
"The Prime Minister of New Zealand did it [resigned] with integrity. Something that had to be done for the party. In 2012, I did it on February 7. On the eighth day, the entire country was with us," Nasheed said.
He said that the principle of transparent democracy should be maintained in the country.
Nasheed said that even if Solih believes that MDP will not be able to win the presidential election without forming an alliance, the results of previous elections show that MDP can win. He said the number of votes polled in each election has been increasing since the party garnered 105,000 votes in 2013.
Nasheed also highlighted how Solih discussed his alliance formula in Hondedhoo and Madaveli during the latter's campaign visit.
He said that even though Solih has said that he knows the formula to retain the coalition, he is not doing it in a beneficial way. He said it was not acceptable to let Maldives' resources go to political leaders similar to business deals in exchange of the party leaders' support in MDP.