Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has postponed their congress to mid-2026. It was earlier scheduled to be held this August.The postponement was passed through the votes of 45 out of 48 members who attended last night's MDP National Council meeting.

It was proposed by MDP's Hoarafushi constitutency president and former MP Ahmed Saleem, and seconded by Thulhaadhoo constituency president Abdulla Siraj. They proposed that the congress be held in mid-2026, after the local council elections are concluded.

Further, Saleem proposed that a special committee be formed to prepare for the congress.

Some members expressed concerns about bringing the proposal of postponing the congress so close to the previously scheduled date. All members who spoke in the National Council meeting last night concurred on the importance of holding a congress. However, they were of the view that it is not ideal to hold the congress ahead of the local council elections scheduled for March 2026.

Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail said that since the end of May, the party had been working on organizing 20th anniversary activities. He said that it was due to this that a National Council meeting had not been held earlier even to propose the postponement of the council.

Fayyaz said that the anniversary activities are set to conclude around June 26 next year, and it would be most appropriate to hold the congress around then.

The congress was initially planned for August 15 at a time when there was talk indicating that former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail and party President Abdulla Shahid all intended to contest for the party's presidential ticket.

However, party seniors later raised concerns that competition over the presidential ticket may lead to disputes within the party in the run up to the local council election.