Home Min: President Solih’s coalition will win 51.2% votes

Minister of Home Affairs Imran Abdualla said on Wednesday that the parties in coalition with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will gain 51.2 percent of votes in the upcoming presidential elections.

In a tweet, Imran, who is currently the president of Adhaalath Party (AP), said that he has done much calculations on the outcome of the election. 

“God willing, if MDP, AP and MDA work together to elect President Solih for a second term, we will win with over 51.2 percent of the votes in the election on September 9, 2023.”

His remarks come at a time where the second largest party of the current government coalition - Jumhoory Party (JP) announced its decision to separately contest in the presidential election. 

Not only that, while JP leader Qasim Ibrahim is running in the presidential race, it is widely believed that the party will be backed by President’s rival in the MDP primary, former President Mohamed Nasheed. 

This brings new obstacles to President Solih winning a second term, and has further increased the political pressures felt by the government. 

However, so far there has been no official comments regarding JP’s decision, despite the party being deeply interlaced into the government.

Of recent, all the governments formed in Maldives have been through a coalition. But except the current government, all other coalitions failed and broke apart pretty early on. 

The President has done much to ensure the coalition remains intact, and has been vocal about his commitment to it.