President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is expected to visit Sun Island resort for a meeting with Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim in confidence, to discuss about forming a coalition ahead of the runoff polls on September 30.
According to reports, president Solih is expected to travel to Sun Island on Wednesday afternoon, September 13, at 1:00 p.m.
Qasim Ibrahim, who secured 5,460 votes and came in fifth in the first round of the presidential election, has not formally announced his party's coalition decision for the second round.
It was reported that Qasim met with Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition's candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's running mate and Faresmaathoda MP Hussain Mohamed Latheef with other members of the leadership on Tuesday evening. They met at Sun Island to discuss about a possible alliance.
JP is a coalition partner of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and never officially exited the alliance before Qasim Ibrahim's announcement to contest in the presidential race. However, Qasim continued to heavily criticize President Solih and the current government during his campaign efforts.
This was also the first election where Qasim secured the least number of votes, although expectations for him were stronger.
While Qasim Ibrahim's decision in previous elections had decided the winner, the party lost its position to the newly former The Democrats.
Qasim's JP had played a significant role in the success of political parties in the 2008 and 2013 elections. It was widely believed that his support was crucial during runoff polls to determine the president elect.
President Solih fielded Faisal Naseem, a JP member, as his running mate in the coalition-backed 2018 election.
In addition to Qasim, President Solih has been engaging in discussions with both The Democrats founder and parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's son, Faris Maumoon, who ran independently in this year's election.
President Solih earlier extended invitations to the parties for discussions to form alliances before the second round.
Meanwhile, a majority of members from The Democrats, have expressed their reluctance to form an alliance with MDP, although an official decision on the matter is still pending.