Speaking at a press conference, President Solih announced his intentions to run for re-election in the upcoming 2023 Presidential elections. This marks as the first official confirmation by the President.
President Solih has said that he is confident of winning the 2023 elections through a coalition. He also expressed that the most beneficial choice for Maldives would be if MDP remains in the power.
The President said his government had started many projects for the people, and the projects should continue into the coming years without interruption.
“It would be impossible unless with the joint effort of multiple parties. I am confident I will win in 2023 with an MDP-led coalition,” he said.
President Solih while confirming his contention, acknowledged that their might be candidates who might want to contest him for the party ticket. He said that the best way to determine the candidate for the MDP Presidential ticket is to hold a primary and the party’s candidate would be determined by the congress.
Nasheed Quick statements on President Solih’s candidature affirmation:
MDP’s President, former President and Parliament Speaker, Mohamed Nasheed took it to twitter after President Solih stated that he was confident in winning the 2023 Presidential elections.
Varah gina beyfulhun text kurahvaathee dhanavan.Alhugadah fennagothugai miadhuge haalathakee amilla unmeedhu iskoh verikamah fainaganvee vagutheh noon. Mee beyru faisage reserve ragalhukoh rayyithunge salaamaiytherikan dhemehetteyne gothaamedhu visnaa magah alhuvaanvee vaguthu
— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) June 8, 2022
In the tweet, Nasheed says that this is not the time to announce the world one’s desire to stay in power. He said this is a crucial time to focus and work on economic woes, rather than set a foothold on personal aspirations for Presidency.
Mohamed Nasheed in one of his TV interviews earlier had said that he did not expect President Solih to contest for the President Primary, stating that Pres. Solih has never made such statements.
“I don’t expect President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to contest the upcoming presidential election. However, I have made it clear in many ways, repeatedly expressed my intention to contest in the election,” Nasheed said.
Will there be a Coalition again?
Although President Solih has expressed his desires in running for the upcoming elections with the support of government coalition, the political parties in the government has remained undecided on their next move.
Jumhooree Party, the second largest party in the ruling coalition has announced that the party will be contesting the elections with their current party leader MP Gasim Ibrahim, stating that they have not received any proposal from the President’s side for a coalition.
Ali Solih, the Spokesperson for JP has confirmed on the party’s decision to contest the upcoming Presidential elections.
Adhaalath Party, stressed that the party is yet to decide regarding 2023’s election as of yet and said that they have always thought that one party alone cannot govern.
Maldives Reform Movement’s (MRM) Secretary Abdulla Aleem told that they have also yet to make a decision on 2023’s election
Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM):
Though no official confirmation has been made by any regarding whether former President Abdulla Yameen would contest for the Presidential election, there has been a rumor that the party within itself has a three way power struggle.
Other than this, the party is also in a chaos with the Election Commission— stated that PPM submitted 391 fake membership forms.
EC had released statistics of the complaints it had received from 2018 onwards over fake forms.
PPM questioned the basis of EC’s assertation that the party submitted 391 fake forms and said it wanted a criminal investigation into the theft of its members.
