Jumhooree Party (JP), on Tuesday, announced that it has not made a final decision regarding whether to contest for all 87 seats in the Parliamentary elections slated for April 6.
Instead, the coalition party opted to open applications for interested individuals to submit their candidacy for constituencies of their choosing, after holding a JP council meeting.
JP spokesperson and State Minister of Communication, Science and Technology Ali Solih assured that the move was not a guarantee that JP would contest for each constituency in April’s elections.
Stating that a five-member committee would be responsible for selecting to represent JP as well as their respective constituencies, Solih said that JP would always prioritize political stability and respect any agreements reached.
JP’s announcement was made amidst rising tension following the decision of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to contest for all 87 constituencies despite a seat-sharing agreement reached between the four parties in the ruling coalition.
The founder of JP Qasim Ibrahim recently declared that the party would not hesitate to contest for all 87 constituencies.
Following this remark, former President Mohamed Nasheed stated that he would welcome such a decision on JP’s part as the wider choice to citizens would strengthen democracy in Maldives.