Former Maldivian presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said on Wednesday that they have set aside the whatever they said about each other after their falling out in 2023, as political rivalry pushed apart the two childhood friends, with catastrophic implications no just for their personal relationship, but also for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – a political party they founded together.
The two had a sit down on Wednesday, during which Solih said they discussed “the future of the party and the country.”
It comes as the MDP prepares to hold the primaries for the Local Council Elections scheduled for April, with the party again divided between those aligned with Solih, and those loyal to Nasheed.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Solih said they both wished the best for the party.
He said that Wednesday’s meeting was also proof that things between him and Nasheed never deteriorated “to a point of no return.”
Solih also said that they had decided to put a pin on the subject of the upcoming presidential election.
In 2018, Nasheed backed a successful campaign to hoist Solih to power, after he was ruled out of contention due to a conviction that was later overturned.
But tensions flared between Nasheed and Solih as it drew closer to the 2023 presidential election, especially after the former lost the MDP presidential ticket to the latter in January that year.
The rivalry between them created a rift within the MDP, culminating into Nasheed and those loyal to him leaving the party in June 2023, to form a new party, the Democrats.
Following the formation, Nasheed famously declared that he would “dismantle” the MDP, a party that he had helped found.
This rift is widely believed to be one of the main reasons for MDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
But in June this year, Nasheed and his allies dissolved the Democrats and rejoined the MDP.
Mohamed Nasheed (L) and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (R) meet for talks on December 24, 2025. (Photo/MDP)
“We decided that it is too early to talk about the [2028] presidential election. That we will move forward by casting that subject aside. We will attend to that when the time comes. We never reached a point of no return. This is why we are here,” said Solih on Wednesday.
Nasheed said that the criticism they made against each other is all in the past.
“I do not believe President Solih and I could have a long-running dispute. No. Not at all. And even if you say it like that, we never even said that much,” he said.
Nasheed said that the differences in opinion they had, and the words of criticism they exchanged was always somewhat “measured.”
Solih said he understands they should not have fallen out with each other at a critical time, with the 2023 presidential election approaching.
“I believe things escalated to that point because we did not talk about a lot of things that we should have talked about back then. But if we are able to closely communicate to ensure something like that does not happen again, then we are not going to face such a quake,” he said.
Solih said that both he and Nasheed had set aside their differences and wish to work together for the good of the MDP.
“We are old men now. Therefore, we have nothing new to say no matter how much this is discussed. We can talk. But we need to move forward past this point,” he said.