Main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) 's President Mohamed Nasheed has congratulated Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail (Fayya) on his victory in the party's Chairperson election held Saturday.
MDP held its internal elections on Saturday, in which the party elected its new Chairperson, Women's Wing President, and Youth Wing President. The most anticipated and exciting race was the Chairperson Election, in which Minister Fayyaz went head to head against Maafannu North MP Imthiyaz Fahmy.
Although neither President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih nor Parliament Speaker and former Maldives President Nasheed officially announced their support for either candidate, those loyal to the two leaders leaned towards opposing candidates during the campaign. In this regard, Nasheed's family and close aides backed Imthiyaz, which hints that Nasheed's support lay with Imthiyaz. Meanwhile, those close to President Solih worked closely with Fayyaz.
Following Fayyaz's landslide victory in the election, President Nasheed posted a tweet on Sunday amid controversy over his absence post-election. Retweeting a tweet posted by Imthiyaz accepting the election's outcome and congratulating Fayyaz, Nasheed congratulated Fayyaz, Imthiyaz, and their campaign teams for their efforts. He said he did not doubt that the MDP would achieve more victories under Fayyaz's chairmanship.
Fayyaz responded to Nasheed's tweet, stating that he always needed Nasheed's guidance.
Fayyaz Ismail was elected as MDP's Chairperson Election with 58 percent of the vote. He received over 28,000 votes against Imthiyaz's 20,000 votes.
