Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb, and The Democrats’ presidential candidate, has filed a resolution with the parliament seeking a public referendum to decide the governance system.
The resolution was submitted on Tuesday, September 12, ahead of the runoff polls scheduled for September 30.
While speaking at the party's hub to discuss The Democrats' next move for the second round of elections, Ilyas said that no party has been successful in securing a majority on its own since the 2008 Maldives Constitution came into force. He added that parties have always sought coalition support to win elections.
Ilyas further highlighted that each election eventually gets focused on either releasing political prisoners or dethroning the presiding ruler, instead of working for the public’s benefit.
“It is now once again the right time to ask the public, in my opinion, whether to retain the current system or not,” Ilyas said.
Ilyas submitted the resolution to the parliament seeking for a public referendum before the second round of elections.
The Democrats' candidate came in third in the first round of the presidential election, securing over 15,000 votes. The two major parties, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition, and the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are currently competing to secure The Democrats' support in the next round.
However, the majority of the party's members have expressed a preference for a parliamentary system and are willing to align with any party that supports the implementation of The Democrats' policies.
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