Police have remained tight-lipped over an assault attempt on opposition alliance presidential candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih while he was on a door-to-door campaign in the reclaimed suburb Hulhumale on Tuesday.
The assault attempt was foiled by Solih's bodyguards and supporters before he was whisked away in a car. The two yet unidentified men were captured on video as they scuffled with the veteran lawmaker's bodyguards and supporters.
When pressed on the incident, police spokesperson said an attempted assault would be looked into but refused to neither confirm nor deny an investigation had been launched into the assault attempt.
Unfazed by the attempt, Solih was later seen continuing his campaign. Opposition officials said the latest incident underscores the threats facing the opposition ahead of the presidential elections.
Nasheed's refusal to back-down earlier had threatened to destroy the once unimaginable alliance he had formed with former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the other two opposition party leaders - Gasim Ibrahim and Sheikh Imran Abdulla.
But Nasheed's sudden withdrawal, has now united the once divided opposition and have finally agreed on nominating a single candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
Hours after Nasheed's withdrawal, the four leaders in a joint statement said the opposition have now reached an agreement to join forces against incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
Gasim's Jumhoory Party (JP) along with Imran's religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) have already come out in support of Solih as the opposition alliance candidate for the elections.
According to the long awaited opposition agreement, the presidential candidate would be Solih while the running mate would be nominated by JP which it said would be announced soon.
Government meanwhile has ordered the relevant state institutions to provide equal opportunity to all presidential candidate and their respective running mates including protection and safety.
