Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) announces that that they will partner up with the Maldives United Opposition (MUO) in the next Local Council elections, which will take place in January 2017. The decision was arrived at the Party Congress held today.
The motion was proposed by MDP Vice President Mohamed Shifaz. The motion was passed with 25 members voting for it, while 32 members attended the session.
While many members supported the idea, some had voiced against motion, stating that opinion of general members of the Party must be sought out prior to making a decision.
The members who supported the idea said the MUO was working to change the situation of the country. They said allying with MUO will prove beneficial in the long run. When the elections come around, the members said that the nation will be at an interim status and therefore it will be important and vital to tie up with MUO.
The motion says that leaderships of MUO and MDP will discuss and arrive at an agreement on which areas and how many candidates will contest in the Local Council elections.
Shifaz said MDP will determine who their candidates are but the decision to contest in an area and how many candidates will be determined in joint discussions with the MUO. He added that a small joint committee will be formed to hash out these details.
Forming coalitions to contest in Council elections has been previously observed, when PPM, JP and MDA jointly contested the Council elections of 2014.
