President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has lost 70,000 votes from MDP supporters, the party's President and Parliament Speaker, Mohamed Nasheed, has said.
Speaking to the press on Sunday, Nasheed reiterated his claims that President Solih had removed MDP members who support Nasheed from the main-ruling party's register and heavily criticized the president.
"The President's team has removed 39,000 members [from the MDP register]. With the members who support these 39,000 members, this adds up to 70,000 votes. President Solih cannot gain the support of these people," Nasheed said.
Nasheed accused the people involved in the formation of the MDP were members of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's Maldives Reform Movement.
"Ahmed Abbas of Daisymaage, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, our Dr. Nashid, Laila of Yagoothuge," Nasheed said, sharing from the list of those expelled from the MDP.
Nasheed said he decided to contest the MDP primary because the presidential election cannot be won without 70,000 votes. He said the MDP members would not stand with President Solih.
Nasheed noted that the situation in 2018, in which a coalition was formed to win the presidential election, was different from the current situation. The situation is now such that he, the coalition leaders Gasim Ibrahim, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and Imran Abdulla can also contest the presidential election, he said. Therefore, the leaders will contest the presidential election, and an alliance will be formed only after the election's first round, Nasheed said.
The MDP presidential primary is scheduled to be held on the 28th of this month, in which Nasheed would go head to head with President Solih. Nasheed has repeatedly said that he does not see himself losing the primary.
