Former Maldivian presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih are set to meet in Male’ soon, and will be working together for the upcoming local council elections.
The promised partnership comes after tensions between the two led to a deep rift within the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in 2023, back when it had been in power. This rift is widely believed to have been the reason why Solih lost re-election later that year.
In a meeting on Monday with MDP members during a stop in Dh. Kudahuvadhoo while on his way to Th. Hirilandhoo, Solih appealed for all party members to put on a united front and work together to win the major elections scheduled for next year.
Solih said that he would be meeting with Nasheed upon return to Male’ after concluding his current trip.
He said that the two were already engaged in discussions, and would be working together to win the April elections for the MDP.
You will see the two presidents working together, he told party members.
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.
The decision by Nasheed to rejoin the MDP had come with the Maldives set to hold two key elections; the local council election in 2026, and the presidential elections in 2028 – the latter of which Nasheed had said he is considering contesting.
The decision by Nasheed to rejoin the MDP increases the rivalry within the party for its presidential ticket. The party's former chairperson Fayyaz Ismail 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.