The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s President and Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has indicated that he is running in the party’s primary because the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid did not put forth his candidature in the election.
Speaking at Raa atoll, Dhuvaafaru on Tuesday, Nasheed said that his choice was Minister Shahid.
"Before I decided to run, I told Shahid [again] that if he wanted to, I wouldn’t be doing this. But I don’t think they are the type of people who would get out there and contest. That’s why I decided to run," the former president said, speaking about why he decided to run.
Nasheed claimed that the Foreign Minister had considered contesting but backed out because he did not want to face an election.
"I am the type of person who would get out there and contest. That’s why I’m here today."
The Parliament Speaker said that the reason he had to "get out" and contest was because there were too many people who claimed they would not vote for his opponent, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He said that when he visited homes in his door-to-door campaigns, people expressed their disapproval of the President.
Nasheed reflected on the political climate in the Maldives in 2018, the year of the last presidential election, and noted that all of the party leaders, who would have been the front-runners, were disqualified from running because of charges brought against them by the previous administration. He said that the then-opposition coalition decided that they would back a candidate put forward by MDP.
Nasheed went on to say that he had considered Shahid to be a potential candidate, along with incumbent President Solih, when the political leaders discussed the matter back then. However, Nasheed said he decided to endorse the candidate "who has been seen with MDP the longest." He maintained that supporting Solih was the right decision at the time.
Meanwhile, Shahid, who served as the President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recently, has been consistently seen at Solih’s campaign events, and has declared his support for the President in the primary.
Responding to Nasheed, Shahid stated that he had already decided that Solih should run for re-election when Nasheed approached him about MDP’s presidential primary.
The Foreign Minister told Mihaaru News on Wednesday that he wanted to guarantee that the incumbent President is re-elected for a second term, and that he had decided to back Solih early into his presidency.
"[Nasheed] asked me repeatedly, but I have been clearly saying that I will back President Solih in 2023—that’s my decision," Shahid said.
In response to Nasheed’s allegations that Shahid was "not the type who would contest in elections," the Foreign Minister recalled his many electoral victories. "I contested in elections and was elected to the parliament five times. I also won the UNGA’s presidency by contesting."
Shahid said that he looked forward to working with Solih in a second term in office, and emphasised the significance of Solih winning the election.
"For political stability and to continue the developmental initiatives, it is imperative that President Solih wins a second term," he said.
The two candidates contesting MDP’s presidential primary, President Solih and Speaker Nasheed, have been running busy and heated campaigns, leading up to the election scheduled for January 28. Meanwhile, the Elections Commission has announced that the presidential election will be held in early September.
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