Adhaalath Party has decided to back President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and form a coalition with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for the upcoming presidential election.
Adhaalath Party is part of the current ruling coalition.
The MDP National Assembly passed a resolution on February 15 giving the MDP presidential candidate and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih the power to decide if he wants to form a coalition in the upcoming presidential election. The Adhaalath Party has agreed to support President Solih in the upcoming presidential election after discussions in the party's consultative council following an invitation by President Solih to form a coalition with MDP. In his invitation letter, the President asked the existing coalition leaders to continue supporting him in the upcoming presidential election.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Adhaalath Party said that based on the current circumstance, the party's consultative council believes that it is in the best interest of the holy religion of Islam, the country, and the people of the Maldives to back President Solih in the September presidential election.
"The Adhaalath Party Consultative Council pledges to support the MDP Presidential Candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election after formulating the agreement mentioned in Article 49.3 of the Adhaalath Party Constitution," the statement said.
The religiously-conservative Adhaalath Party supported President Solih after considering four main factors.
They are:
- To promote and maintain the true faith of the holy religion of Islam and to strengthen the Islamic personality of the Maldives, and to maintain the religious unity of the Maldivian people
- To protect the independence and sovereignty of the Maldives and to maintain the authority of the Maldivian State, to maintain peace and harmony in the Maldives, and to establish friendship and unity among the Maldivian people
- The MDP agrees to give priority to Islamic principles and rules, transparency in decentralization, family health, and social justice in the formulation of the manifesto for the presidential election, and agrees to seek full participation of Adhaalath Party in formulating the manifesto
- To take into account the experience of the Adhaalath Party with various political parties in the past, the opportunities given to the Adhaalath Party to implement its policies in various governments, and the current political environment in the Maldives
Adhaalath Party has participated as a coalition partner in every government since its formation. The party formed a coalition with President Mohamed Nasheed in 2008, President Abdulla Yameen in 2013, and President Solih in 2018.
