Maldives Democratic Party's (MDP) Chairperson and Minister for Economic Development, Fayyaz Ismail, said on Friday that MDP will not facilitate its own downfall to allow The Democrats, a new political party, to achieve their goal, even if they use the name of democracy and spread hate to empower Mohamed Nasheed.
Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed officially joined The Democrats on Thursday, a political party that he had played a role in forming while he was still a member of MDP.
He formed The Democrats after initiating a movement within the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) called "Fikurrege Dhirun," which translates to "Revival of an Ideology." This movement was started following his defeat in MDP's primary election. Despite his threat to dissolve MDP, he still expressed his intention to bring MDP back into The Democrats.
Fayyaz said that one of the supposed fundamental principles of The Democrats is to dissolve and dismantle MDP.
"[We] will not allow for it to happen. It will not happen," Fayyaz said.
He expressed his disappointment in the former President of MDP for criticizing the party and its members in such a personal manner. He stated that this revealed that the underlying issue was a personal one.
"This is not the mindset of the many people who made sacrifices to establish this party. The original founders of the party do not believe that it was formed solely for President Nasheed or his family," he said.
Fayyaz said it was incredibly uncivilized of Nasheed to declare his intentions to dissolve MDP.
Fayyaz stated that if Nasheed wishes to establish a party based on promoting his own hatred, he is free to do so. However, he dismissed Nasheed's desire to dissolve MDP.
While MDP has started its campaign for a second term, it is anticipated that The Democrats will field their own candidate. However, the party has not yet revealed the identity of their candidate. Meanwhile, The Democrats have been collaborating with opposition parties on various political matters.
Before officially forming as a party, The Democrats had engaged with Jumhooree Party while they were still a movement within MDP. However, discussions ceased when they proposed a parliamentary system of government after winning the election. There are rumors that The Democrats have been collaborating with the largest opposition party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). However, PPM maintains that they will only support former President Abdulla Yameen as their candidate.
However, PPM has said they have no plan to move forward with the election with another candidate.
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