Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed said on Wednesday that over 50,000 people have signed up for the political movement "Fikuregge Dhirun," spearheaded by Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
Fikuregge Dhirun translates to "reviving an ideology."
Nasheed started this movement after he lost the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)'s presidential primary election to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih last month. He alleged there were irregularities in the election and has said that he will not be supporting President Solih in the upcoming election.
MP Rasheed said their aim is to gather support from 95,000 people for their "ideology," and they believe this goal can be achieved within the next month.
He said that a significant number of people from Malé, nearby islands, resorts, and industrial areas have signed up for the "Fikuregge Dhirun" wing. They also have over 4,000 volunteers, and thousands more have joined their social media groups, MP Rasheed, who is active in the campaign, said.
The movement's members include some of the 39,000 MDP members that were expelled from the party, as well as Nasheed's supporters who had not previously joined any political parties. The registration forms have been made available online to facilitate more people joining the movement, MP Rasheed said.
"The party's values and the party's ideologies were killed by the party's current secretariat and its current members. It's a dead ideology now," he said.
"The people formed MDP to reform the country. To hold the government accountable. The aim of this movement is to bring back that ideology."
While MP Rasheed claimed that the "Fikkuregge Dhirun" movement has amassed over 50,000 supporters, the details of those who signed up from Malé and other areas have not been disclosed. It is also unclear how the movement plans to move forward with such a large number of new supporters.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the MDP's primary election by a wide margin, winning 61 percent of the votes, while Nasheed won 39 percent.
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