MP Rasheed and MP Afeef no longer wish to be MDP members

Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef and Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed have said that they no longer wish to be members of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), as the party is deviating from its beliefs.

The two MPs hinted at this while discussing the amendments to the Police Act submitted on behalf of the government during the parliament sitting on Wednesday. Both members are avid supporters of Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed in the currently split MDP, and have retracted their support of the administration as well.

Pointing out the flaws in the amendment, MP Afeef said he did not understand any reason why MDP should introduce such a bill to the parliament but remarked that the party could do whatever it wanted as long as it had a large majority.

MP Afeef said the party's parliamentary group would issue a three-line whip to vote on the bill, and if they did not vote for it, disciplinary action would be taken against them again. However, he said that they no longer mind if they are expelled from the party.

"I do not care for what steps would be taken [against me]. It would be best for me if you removed me from the parliamentary group," MP Afeef, who is one of MDP's long-serving members, said.

MP Rasheed also said the proposed amendments to the Police Act were not a "stand" by the party.

He also said the party is committed to ensuring justice, integrity, and equality, and he cannot vote on bills that go against it.

Therefore, he said that he would discuss leaving the party with the party's President, Mohamed Nasheed.

"I want to seriously discuss with the president [Nasheed] resigning from the party until the party goes back to its stand," Rasheed said.

He said that after leaving the party, he would continue to support Nasheed's "Fikkurege Dhirun" (meaning "reviving an ideology") movement. He said the MDP's vision will be reflected in this ideology.

While MP Afeef and MP Rasheed openly discussed the idea of quitting the party, the parliamentary group has already taken action against MPs on several occasions for violating the party's whip lines. The party's parliamentary group is also trying to tighten the restrictions and disqualify the members who go against the whip from running in their internal elections.

After Nasheed lost MDP's presidential primary, he started the "Fikkurege Dhirun" movement, and has been working against President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.