Will not work with MDP: Thasmeen

Leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has said that he has reiterated in the past that he will not work with the leadership of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and that this decision will not change.

Thasmeen said this while speaking on VTV Fasmanzaru program last night.

He assured that he will remain steadfast and stand by his word.

“I have said repeatedly, as long as I am the leader, I will not come to any agreement with Mohamed Nasheed’s MDP and work with them in the next election. That’s something I’ve said, I don’t go back on my word,” he said.

Referring to DRP’s vote in Parliament in favour of establishing secret voting, Thasmeen said that that vote was based on a decision made after discussions within the party’s Parliamentary Group.

He said that DRP votes according to how the party feels is the right way to vote, and that it is possible that MDP votes the same as DRP on some issues, but this does not mean that the two parties are cooperating.

He said that DRP has its own views on ‘various policies’, and that if there is a difference in opinion on any issue, DRP would try to discuss it with the government and proceed according to the party’s policy. In the event that this fails, DRP might take a different stand after considering the weight of the issue. Thasmeen said that he does not believe that this is a problem.

Thasmeen referred to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s statement yesterday that he might run for President in 2013, and said that Gayoom broke up DRP and formed his own political party, also because he could not keep his distance from the politics.

He said, however, that Gayoom doesn’t reveal his decisions beforehand, and that we will only know his decision on this matter later.

“The way he works politically, is that even if he has decided that he will not run for President, he will not confirm it until the last minute,” Thasmeen said.