Leader of Jumhooree Party (JP), Qasim Ibrahim has said that JP members can choose to support any of the candidates contesting in the second round of the presidential election to be held on September 30, even though the party had collectively decided on Sunday that they will not back either of the candidates.
A tweet published by Qasim who received 5,460 votes in the first round of the presidential election said that he believed that the decision of JP not to support any candidate could violate the individual rights of party members.
Based on this belief, Qasim said that supporting and voting for their chosen candidate without using the name of the party, is a legal right of each individual member.
Qasim said his decision not to back any candidate was based on his bitter past experiences with coalition governments.
Eight candidates contested in the first round of the presidential election held on September 9. The two candidates who made it to the second round of the election scheduled for September 30 are Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.