Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has said the Maldives' government system must be changed to a parliamentary system to ensure that the main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) remains in power.
In a message sent to the Whatsapp group of MDP National Council members following the party's victory in Saturday's Komandoo by-election, Nasheed congratulated and thanked the group members for their efforts in winning the election.
'.. However, our percentage did not cross 50 percent. If we do not change to a parliamentary system, we [MDP] cannot remain in power,' he wrote in his message.
MDP won Saturday's by-election, with their candidate, Mohamed Rashid winning 48 percent of votes. The opposing Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Moosa Fathuhy won 40 percent of the votes, while Maldives National Party (MNP) candidate Abdul Hannan Idris won 11 percent of votes.
Nasheed has always been a vocal advocate to change the country's government system from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. He spearheads a petition calling to change the government system, and has expressed interest in becoming the Prime Minister.
Speaker of the Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed
