Gasim alludes JP does not have 35 percent in government

Ruling coalition partner Jumhoory Party’s leader Gasim Ibrahim has hinted that his party does not have the 35 percent of political posts in the government, as agreed in the coalition agreement.

Speaking at a Jumhoory Party (JP) gathering on Saturday night, Gasim said that the “citizens would be happy” if JP had 35 percent of the government as promised.

“The agreement says that we must be consulted when appointing people to political posts and other independent institutions. But we have 29 political positions. If that is 35 percent of political posts, then I am a very happy man,” Gasim Ibrahim said.

If agreements are not kept, everything might “fall back to zero” and JP “might have to reconsider” continuing in the coalition, the Jumhoory Party leader said.

Explaining why JP did not attend the recent coalition rally to mark the parliamentary election success, Gasim said that JP was invited, but not given a slot to speak at the rally.

“It was arranged for two PPM representatives to speak and conclude the rally. We asked them, about three hours in advance, to give us about five minutes to say thank you. But the request was denied,” Gasim said. He said that the request was rejected by the PPM leadership.

A number of members signed for JP during Saturday night’s rally, including Aishath Shiham, former chair of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) women’s branch.