The main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidates will contest all constituencies for the upcoming parliamentary elections, the party has said.
Speaking to AVAS, MDP's Deputy Chairperson Ibrahim Waheed said a political party's primary objective is to participate in elections and vie for political power. As such, MDP will contest all seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, he said.
Waheed mentioned that while there has been no official decision made within the party regarding this matter, the view to contest all seats represents their general stance.
"There is no official decision of our party on this yet. However, this is our view on this," Waheed said.
Waheed, also the Minister of the President's Office, said the MDP would contest the six new seats introduced in next year's parliamentary elections and the existing ones. Currently, their priority is examining parliamentary constituencies and submitting complaints to the Elections Commission (EC) if necessary. The EC has extended the opportunity to submit complaints against the interim report on parliamentary constituencies until November 19.
Waheed further said despite the MDP's defeat in the presidential election, the party will maintain the same level of enthusiasm in the parliamentary elections. MDP's parliamentary primaries will be held later this year, contributing to the party's continued strengthening.
"Our primary will be a significant political event. After that, we will prepare for the election as one," he said.
The EC has not yet announced the exact date of the parliamentary elections. However, the election is expected to be held in late February or early March next year.
