President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is seeking re-election, formally submitted his candidacy form to the Elections Commission (EC) on Sunday, August 6.
President Solih's candidacy form was officially submitted to the EC by his election agent, Mohamed Nashiz, and his campaign manager, Mohamed Rasheed Hussain. As part of his campaign preparations, President Solih had previously announced that Mohamed Aslam, the leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) parliamentary group, would be his running mate.
President Solih secured the presidential ticket of the largest political party after defeating Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
Solih won MDP’s primary with 61 percent, totaling 24,566 votes, while his opponent Nasheed received 15,641 votes.
While he has been actively campaigning to secure a second term of presidency, President Solih is one of the most experienced contenders in this year's election. His political journey began when he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Lhaviyani atoll in 1994. Subsequently, he served in the parliament for a total of five terms before before his 2018 presidential election win.
President Solih contended against former President Abdulla Yameen through a coalition formed between the ruling party, Jumhooree Party (JP), Adhaalath Party and Maldives Reform Movement (MRM).
Though President Solih extended the invitation to renew coalition ties for his re-election bid, JP decided to contest in the elections separately, while Adhaalath Party renewed its ties. For this year’s election, MDP saw a new coalition partner in the form of Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam-led Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).
President Solih expressed optimism about winning the election from the first round, and he said his decision to contend to secure a second term was to ensure the continuity of ongoing developmental projects and to secure a peaceful future for the Maldives.
While MDP’s main opponent, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), nominated former president Abdulla Yameen as its presidential candidate. However, his candidacy was rejected by the Elections Commission (EC) due to his ongoing criminal sentence and a pending USD 5 million fine for his conviction of money laundering and graft in the Vaavu atoll Aarah case, leaving him constitutionally ineligible to run for office.
Yameen's defense and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) appealed his candidacy rejection to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court upheld the EC's decision to reject Yameen's candidacy.
People's National Congress (PNC), PPM's coalition partner, chose to participate in the elections independently. The party awarded its presidential ticket to Malé City Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who had recently joined their ranks.
JP leader and Maamigili MP Qasim Ibrahim, Maldives National Party (MNP) leader Mohamed Nazim and Maldives Reform Movement’s (MRM) leader Faris Maumoon along with The Democrats’ candidate Ilyas Labeeb are other contenders in this year’s election.
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