Nasheed confident of winning MDP Primary

Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed has stated that he cannot be defeated in any MDP election.

Nasheed made the statement in response to a question asked by a reporter whether he would back President Solih as a presidential candidate if he himself failed to win the party ticket to compete in the 2023 presidential election. Without giving a direct answer to the question, Nasheed said he is confident that he would win the party primary, and that he contested in elections to win.

Nasheed said the party ticket President Solih won in 2018 was in reality, his ticket, and that President Solih was able to run for presidency in 2018 as the circumstance at the time did not allow for Nasheed to compete in the election. Although President Solih won the party ticket without going through a party primary, the party does not have any policies that allow a presidential ticket to be won without a primary, he added.

Speaker Nasheed and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih differ on their opinions on the most suitable government system for the Maldives. While Nasheed has always been a vocal advocate for a parliamentary system and has been calling for a change in the system, President Solih continues to stress that such a decision can only be made by the people, through a referendum.