Tourism Minister, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, will be supporting President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the upcoming presidential election.
Dr. Mausoom was appointed to the Cabinet on a slot given to the ruling coalition partner, Jumhooree Party. Despite an invitation by President Slih to ally for the September election, Jumhooree Party has decided it would contest the election separately and lead a coalition of its own.
Dr. Mausoom has not officially announced that he would be backing President Solih instead of his own party's candidate. However, he has changed his Facebook cover photo to one of himself with President Solih. Meanwhile, he has also left the JP Whatsapp group. However, the party said Mausoom has not yet left the party.
Mausoom was previously very involved with JP leader and prominent businessman Gasim Ibrahim's business. He has also served as the Vice President of JP. However, it was observed that he did not attend the JP National Conference held recently. Lately, he has been posting several statements on social media lauding President Solih.
In addition to Mausoom, the other cabinet ministers from Jumhooree Party are Fisheries Minister Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan and Transport Minister and Gasim's spouse, Aishath Nahla. Neither Hassan nor Nahla has announced who they would be backing in the presidential election. Both actively participate in JP activities.
JP's decision to contest the presidential election separately has seen several party members in government positions leaving the party. They include President's Office Minister Ahmed Sameer, Immigration Controller Mohamed Ahmed Hussain (Hanafy), MWSC's Managing Director Hassan Shah, MTCC's CEO Adam Azim, Higher Education Deputy Minister Aiminath Mohamed Saleem, and Arts Deputy Minister Waleedha Waleed.
