President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih recently held discussions with members of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and other pro-government MPs regarding the decision made by coalition partner Jumhoory Party (JP) to field its own candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
The meeting was reportedly held at Muliaage last Wednesday and was attended by 50 MPs.
According to MP Mohamed Shifau, the President called for the meeting to discuss how to respond to the decisions made by other parties regarding the election, as well as to plan his own campaign. Shifau stated that they provided advice to the President on both these matters.
JP’s decision to run independently in the election instead of supporting President Solih’s re-election was a setback for him, as the party is the second-largest in the coalition government after MDP. They have even opened candidacy for their presidential primary.
The President was hoping to contest the election with a broad coalition, but with JP fielding its own candidate, it remains to be seen how this will impact his campaign.
