The new political movement 'Navaanavai' declared late Friday that its recent protest was not organised in conjunction with any political party.
Navaanavai, which identifies as left-wing, had staged a peaceful protest in front of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the four leaders of the ruling coalition at a press conference on Thursday night.
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While the group had demanded to safeguard the parliament from the influence of business tycoons and advocated against electing candidates who refuse to declare their assets, the protest sparked much speculation amongst the public. Former vice president and current adviser to Jumhooree Party's leader Qasim Ibrahim, Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, proclaimed that the "carefully planned protest" foretold the dissolution of the ruling coalition.
However, the spokesperson for Navaanavai, Fathimath Saaira, refuted rumours that the movement was aligned with any particular political party.
"We believe that all the existing parties revolve around certain figures or ideologies. They're very detached from the people", she said.
Saaira further expressed Navaanavai's view that it would be unjust for the political leaders to decide on how to divide the parliament seats.
"The number of citizens unrelated to these five parties is greater than the total sum of their members".
Navaanavai's protest and Dr. Jameel's ensuing remarks came amidst differences between the coalition members. While Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the largest member of the ruling alliance, intends to contest for all the parliament seats, Jumhooree Party is calling for a consensus on how to divide the seats amongst the member parties.