The Jumhooree Party (JP) Council has once again refused to support President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential election.
JP is the second biggest party in the current ruling coalition. Earlier in February, President Solih extended an invitation to coalition partners to continue their alliance for the next presidential term. However, the JP decided against supporting President Solih at its National Conference and at its Council meeting. Instead, the party decided to field its own candidate and form its own coalition for the presidential election.
In line with this decision, when the party initiated the process for its presidential primary candidate selection, Qasim Ibrahim, the party's leader, emerged as the sole contender. Although the party officially handed over its presential ticket to Qasim on June 9, it is worth noting that Qasim's involvement in campaign events has been limited, primarily consisting of video messages rather than active participation.
Despite Qasim's absence at campaign events, JP is in the process of clearing his criminal records as part of the preparations to formally submit his candidacy form for the presidential election.
In a recent development, Qasim on Wednesday called an emergency meeting to gauge members' opinions regarding supporting President Solih in the upcoming election.
Speaking to AVAS, a JP council member said the party council unanimously opted not to support the President's candidacy, similar to the previous meeting.
President Solih, vying for re-election under the MDP ticket, has said he would announce his running mate sometime today and intends to submit his candidacy form by Friday. The presidential election is scheduled for September 9.
