Former President’s Office Minister Mohamed Shihab and former Parliament Deputy Speaker and former Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim have signed for Jumhooree Party (JP).
Shihab, who has been a former Parliament Speaker along with Nazim signed for Qasim Ibrahim-led JP at a ceremony held on Thursday, August 3. Their forms were received by the party’s leader and presidential candidate Qasim Ibrahim.
While Shihab has recently signed for JP, he had been the senior member of the party during its early days of formation. However, due to political differences, he decided to part ways with JP and joined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at a later stage.
Despite leaving JP, Shihab maintained a close relationship with Qasim Ibrahim. However, he recently resigned from his position as President's Office minister after JP and the current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed-led The Democrats began political discussions to form a coalition for this year's presidential election.
Nazim was previously a close ally of former president Abdulla Yameen, but the two had a falling out over ideological differences. He was a key figure responsible for the formation of both Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), the first political party headed by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the People's Alliance (PA) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). Their already-strained relationship was completely severed after Nazim faced a 25-year jail sentence during Yameen's presidency.
Nazim was sentenced to jail by the Supreme Court in 2015 for his graft and fraud conviction related to winning a bid announced by the former Atolls Ministry to procure flags. However, he challenged the order with a judicial review, and as a result, the court acquitted him in December 2018. Since his acquittal, he has stayed away from the Maldivian political scene until now.
Nazim and Shihab, have joined JP following Qasim Ibrahim's appointment of former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed and local entrepreneurs Ismail Shujau and Ibrahim Shujau as his Special Advisors.
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