New political party "The Democrats" to be formed under the leadership of former President of Maldives and current President of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed, announced its intention to compete in this year's presidential election.
The political movement "Fikuregge Dhirun," meaning "Reviving an Ideology," led by Nasheed within MDP, has received approval from the Elections Commission (EC) to register as a new political party called "The Democrats." During a press conference held by former MDP members heralding the new party, Spokesperson of The Democrats, Afshan Latheef, said that they have officially started the process of collecting 3,000 signatures required to register the new party.
In response to journalists' questions regarding whether they would be able to participate in the upcoming presidential election on September 9, considering the limited time available to complete administrative tasks, Afshan said that they are committed to fulfilling all necessary requirements within the given timeframe.
EC has announce that they will open applications for the presidential election on July 23.
Afshan said that they are confident they will be able to complete the registration process on time, despite the limited time available prior to the election.
"When we reviewed the timeline [of the election], we determined that we have sufficient time to accomplish everything. We are fully aware that there is a significant amount of work ahead of us," Afshan said.
However, according to Afshan, their number one priority right now is to collect 3,000 signatures required to register a political party, after which they will proceed with the implementation of a party constitution, along with developing their policies and initiating their election campaign.
Additionally, Afshan, on behalf of The Democrats, condemned the no-confidence motion in parliament to remove Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, who resigned from MDP and led the formation of The Democrats.
In her statement, she said removing Eva from her position further demonstrates the challenges women in politics face.
Afshan highlighted Eva's experience as a parliamentarian, emphasizing that she has been representing the North Galolhu constituency continuously since the implementation of the new constitution.
"... The Democrats condemn the baseless removal of Eva Abdulla as Deputy Speaker, nor will we accept it," Afshan said in her statement.
A no-confidence motion was submitted to the parliament with the signatures of 49 MDP parliamentarians and independent member of Nilandhoo constituency Abdul Muhsin Hameed to remove Eva from her position as Deputy Speaker.
According to the parliament regulations, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker can be removed if a majority of the attending parliamentarians vote in favor of their removal. If all 87 members attend the session, at least 44 votes will be needed to remove them. Currently, MDP holds 55 seats in the parliament.
Sign In
