Former President Mohamed Nasheed and senior members of The Democrats have rejoined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Nasheed left the MDP in June 2023 after failing in the MDP presidential primary ahead of the 2023 presidential election. In July 2023, Nasheed formed a new party, The Democrats, with his close associates who had left the MDP. However, the party has not achieved political success since its inception and has not reached 5,000 members minimum threshold.
To mark Nasheed’s return to MDP, the party held a celebratory meeting at Sultan Park on Monday evening. Speaking at the meeting, Nasheed expressed his happiness at returning to the party he had long been part of.
"I am extremely happy to be here tonight. I live in Africa, and I will never forget the joy of coming back home, back to our land. Thank you very much," Nasheed said.
Nasheed emphasised that the role of an opposition political party is to keep the people informed. He said the party should work towards winning the upcoming elections.
Many believe that Nasheed, who has previously said he would break up the MDP, rejoined the party with the aim of winning the party's presidential ticket to contest the next presidential election. However, following Nasheed’s announcement that he would rejoin the MDP, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that he too would contest the presidential election.
Some senior MDP leaders are already indirectly campaigning for the party's presidential ticket. They include party Chairman Fayyaz Ismail, Party President, Abdulla Shahid and former Vice-President Faisal Naseem.