"MDP belongs to all of us": Solih urges Nasheed to work together again

Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih called on the breakaway party from Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), The Democrats, to work together again for the sake of MDP's future. Former President Mohamed Nasheed responded positively to Solih's comments, expressing hopes of reaching the shared goals.

Solih made these comments on an interview with Raajje TV on the occasion of MDP's 19th anniversary. He said that it is a huge loss for a group from within the party to leave after having started MDP together many years ago.

Solih expressed his belief that the party splitting up, with one group forming The Democrats, played a significant role in the loss MDP faced in the last Presidential Elections.

He asserted that the work that had commenced with the formation of MDP 19 years ago had not reached completion yet, and called on them to return to the party and work together for their shared goals. If things are not done as such, he said that it would pose an immense loss to the people, with the people having placed certain hopes in the party.

"This is the time when they, too, should think about these things. This party belongs to all of us. We should all proceed together. We can put aside any personal differences we had then. Even if there are some reservations about me, we can set that aside," Solih said.

Nasheed, who is currently on a hiatus from political activity, responded to these remarks on a post he made on social media platform, X.

Agreeing with Solih's comments, Nasheed said that he, too, hopes that they all can find the direction and goals that the former President spoke of.

Nasheed had formed The Democrats in June last year, after several disagreements and changes in opinion rose between the two former Presidents which remained unresolved.

The Democrats separately contested in last year's Presidential Election, but did not achieve significant support. Although no official alliances were made, many individual members within the party appeared to support ruling People's National Congress (PNC) in the second round of the Presidential Elections.

In this April's Parliamentary Elections, MDP, which previously held parliamentary majority, only managed to win 12 seats. The Democrats, meanwhile, failed to secure a single seat.