Ibrahim Falah, the top lawmaker from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), warned on Wednesday that they will make sure the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) suffers a “total loss” in the upcoming local council election.
During the parliamentary sitting on Wednesday, the Inguraidhoo representative criticized former president Mohamed Nasheed for his decision to rejoin the MDP.
Nasheed, along with the rest of the members of his new party the Democrats, had decided on Tuesday rejoin the MDP – a party that he had famously vowed to “dismantle” back in 2023.
Falah said Nasheed was rejoining the MDP to rebuild a party that he himself had dismantled.
“President Nasheed, the former leader of the then-ruling party, said back then that he would dismantle it. Its true. He dismantled it in 2023. He dismantled it! Like President Nasheed promised, he dismantled and discarded it! He has now returned to rebuilt it. And he will,” said Falah.
Nasheed, one of the founding members of the MDP, held office from 2008 until his resignation in 2012, a decision that he later said he was forced to make due to a coup by the security forces.
In 2018, Nasheed backed a successful campaign to hoist Ibrahim Mohamed 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.
Former president Mohamed Nasheed (R) and former Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (L). (Sun Photo/Fayaz Moosa)
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. In a Democrats rally in July 2023, Nasheed famously declared that he would “dismantle” the MDP, a party that he helped found and led for over a decade.
This rift is widely believed to be one of the main reasons for MDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
While the return of Democrats members is expected to make MDP stronger in the local council election next year, Falah warned that the PNC will ensure the main opposition party suffers a heavy defeat.
“We’ve sent five worms to the MDP. Five worms! We will make sure the MDP suffers a total loss in the upcoming local council election. A total loss, Honorable Speaker!” he said.
In December 2023, Nasheed announced he was taking “a respite from active politics” to assume a new post in Ghana as the secretary general of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).
But in January this year, Nasheed said that he hasn’t completely moved away from politics despite his new role, and in April, he urged the MDP and Democrats to work together, saying that he believes that to be in the best interest of the country, as well as the two parties.
Nasheed’s decision to rejoin the MDP comes a day after he met with MDP chairperson Fayyaz Ismail.
It also comes with the Maldives set to hold two key elections; the local council election in 2026, and the presidential election in 2028 – the latter of which Nasheed has said he is considering contesting.
The decision by Nasheed to rejoin the MDP increases the rivalry within the MDP or its presidential ticket. Fayyaz has already announced he plans to contest in the party’s presidential primary, while sources confirm that both Solih and the party’s president Abdulla Shahid are also campaigning for the ticket.