The Jumhooree Party's (JP) Leader Ibrahim Qasim said on Wednesday that if the current administration removes JP members from political positions against the terms of the coalition agreement before the presidential term is over, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih would have to resign as well since the JP played a major role in getting the current administration voted into office.
Since the JP has decided to run for the upcoming presidential election with their leader as the candidate, some members of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) have called for the JP to be kicked out of the existing coalition administration. Qasim responded to these calls by saying that this action would not be permitted.
Qasim said that the current government was put in place based on what was mutually agreed upon in the coalition agreement. He said the agreement states that JP members appointed to political positions should maintain their jobs until November 18 of this year. Therefore, Qasim requested that his party members appointed to these jobs not resign before this presidential term is over.
"If that happens, the President will also have to resign. The positions given to Jumhooree Party members were not given from anyone's inheritance," Qasim said.
Qasim went on to say that even if MDP members say that it is shameful for JP members to remain in their jobs after the party decided to run separately in the election, MDP did not appoint JP members to the agreed-upon share of the government.
On Tuesday night, the JP council unanimously approved that the party would run for the presidential election with their own party candidate, with JP as the leading party should they form a coalition. With this agreement, loud calls for current JP members to resign from political posts had begun.
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