We want to maintain President Solih's government, says Minister Shahid

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid said on Thursday evening said that he wishes to maintain "the patient governance" of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, which allows different views and ideologies to coexist.

Speaking at the campaign rally held by President Solih's campaign team to kickstart his bid for the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) presidential ticket, Shahid said he wishes to maintain a government like Solih's that respects the Maldivian constitution and allows for diverse views. He added that he did not want a government like former President Abdulla Yameen's that had taken over the parliament as well as the Supreme Court.

"We want to maintain President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's patient and capable government. God willing, our work will be complete when President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is back in power once more," Shahid said.

The incumbent president will be competing against the former MDP President and the current Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, in the MDP presidential primary.

Criticising the opposition, Shahid noted that they accuse the government of "stringing the citizens dry" financially, when it was Yameen's administration that had misused public funds. He said that the people are aware of what happened to the state's money, even though the opposition conveniently pretends they don't know what the allegations are about.

The opposition coalition People's National Congress (PNC) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) are scheduled to have a rally this evening called "Felaalaifi," meaning "strung dry" in Dhivehi.

"[You] should not hold rallies saying you have been strung dry. The Maldivian people know who strung them dry - they are the same people who have been doing [this] since 2013," he said. President Yameen was sworn into office in 2013.

Shahid highlighted some of President Solih's achievements, saying that it was this government that set up low-cost transport system to get people out of the island's closure. He also noted that it was this government that paved the way for free bachelors degrees for all Maldivians and made clean drinking water, and other essential needs available to rural areas.