Vice President Faisal Naseem has met with Maamigili MP and Jumhooree Party's (JP) Leader Qasim Ibrahim on Friday, to discuss the upcoming presidential election scheduled for September 9.
JP is the only political party that has not yet announced its stance on the election, and as a result, other parties are vying for Qasim's attention to discuss potential alliances.
Senior officials from various parties, including the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), president of Adhaalath Party Imran Abdulla and president of Maldives Reform Party (MRM) Faris Maumoon have already met with Qasim.
A source close to Qasim confirmed to Mihaaru News that Faisal had visited Sun Island resort today to meet with Qasim.
Faisal is a former employee of Qasim who had worked for him for 27 years. However, after Faisal accepted the position of vice president in 2018, their longstanding relationship weakened.
Although Faisal became the vice president as a member of JP, he has not been active in any of the party's activities during the past four years that he spent in office. Faisal previously stated that this was not due to any conflict between him and Qasim or JP, but rather because he has been committed to fulfilling the government's promises to the people.
While Qasim has not yet announced his stance on the election, JP's council has given him the power to decide whether the party will contest or form an alliance with another political party.
Some members of the JP council support Qasim running in the election as a member, while others wish for the party to continue its existing coalition with MDP.
MDP has proposed an alliance with JP, which has always played a major role in winning elections. Representatives on behalf of MDP's presidential candidate, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, have met with Qasim to discuss the issue. Qasim also met with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih at the President's Office.
However, he did not elaborate on what decision JP would make even after the meeting with the president.