The Democrats candidate vying for the Guraidhoo seat has stepped back and endorsed the government candidate contesting for the same seat, making this the second Democrats candidate to withdraw and endorse government candidates for the upcoming elections.
The candidate vying for the Guraidhoo Constituency under The Democrats’ ticket in the upcoming parliamentary election, Leela Ibrahim Manik has withdrawn from the election and endorsed her opponent contesting for the same seat under the primary government affiliated party, People's National Congress (PNC) ticket, Hanaan Mohamed Rasheed (Hantte).
This is the second time a Democrats candidate has stepped back from the election race and decided to support a government affiliated candidate.
The candidate fielded by Democrats to contest for the Thimarafushi seat, Fathimath Zilma has also endorsed an independent candidate vying for the same constituency, Ahmed Riyaz, on Saturday night. Although a PNC candidate is also running for this seat, State Ministers have affirmed that the government endorsed candidate for this particular constituency is Riyaz.
While the Democrats candidate for the Guraidhoo Constituency had pulled out of the race, no candidates were fielded for the seat by the largest opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The candidate remaining to oppose Hanaan for the Guraidhoo seat is the independent candidate, Ismail Imaan Hussain.
The Guraidhoo seat, which was formerly occupied by the Minister of Defence, Ghassan Maumoon has always highly favored PPM candidates for the constituency. Moreover, this constituency remains the island that relatively cast the highest number of votes to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu in the presidential elections held last year.
Speaking at the event held on Sunday night to reveal Leela’s intentions to endorse the PNC candidate for the seat, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan declared that Leela’s decision to step back was a courageous one and remarked that it was the best course of action for both the nation and the constituency.
Recalling that Democrats had settled on such brave decisions even in the past, Ihusaan stated that the party had backed President Dr Mohamed Muizzu during the recent presidential election as well. He acclaimed this is the perfect example of competitive, yet constructive political activity.
Two candidates of Democrats have presently announced their support for government-affiliated candidates; however, several members of the party have been highly condemning the government as well.
Regardless, former President Mohamed Nasheed had directed heavy criticism towards opposition MDP and commended the political agenda of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu in a post made from his unofficial X account.
The post led to verbal attacks between current parliamentarians of MDP and Democrats on social media.
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