Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim has said the party is set to contest in the 2023 Presidential Election and that the party's congress would decide whether the party will contest on its own or as part of a coalition.
JP is a member of the ruling coalition. Gasim, who has previously contested presidential elections, first announced that he would contest next year's presidential election in 2020.
Speaking at a party rally held Tuesday, Gasim said JP aims to reach 30,000 members before the presidential election. He further said important decisions would be made at the party's upcoming congress.
Gasim further said the party's decision to contest in the presidential election is still in place and that the party would soon decide if they would be joining a coalition. He said JP would not be left out in either scenario.
"Of course, we will not be left out of this. We will be one of these sides," he said.
Gasim said the decision the JP will not make at its congress is not to contest the presidential race. He said that every party is formed to contest the presidential race and implement its manifesto. Therefore, the party will partake in the election, he said.
Noting further that the party can bring about the changes it wanted only when it came to power, Gasim said being part of the ruling coalition is similar to being “stuck outside the net”. Therefore, there is nothing much that the party can do, he said.
We can certainly deliver our expectations to the people if we have power. Therefore, the people must accept that there is nothing much we can do by staying 'outside the net'Gasim Ibrahim | Leader of JP
Gasim also praised President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in his speech. He noted the government's sincere efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and said he is grateful for that.
He said one example of how well the Maldives managed the situation is evident when looking at the situation in the neighboring country, Sri Lanka. He said that if the situation in the Maldives was not appropriately managed, the Maldives would have met the same fate as Sri Lanka.
