President Muizzu meets Dr. Waheed

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has met with the former Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

The meeting took place at the President’s Office on Tuesday.

According to the President’s Office, the two discussed “social and political issues in the country.”

“They also spoke on other initiatives and programs aimed at the betterment of the people and the nation,” said the President’s Office, in a statement confirming the meeting.

Tuesday’s meeting follows a similar one the previous day, with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

President Muizzu had also met with several political leaders last week; the leader of the Jumhoory Party (JP) and Maamigili MP, Qasim Ibrahim; the president of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed; the president of the Maldives National Party (MNP) and Dhangethi MP Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim; and the president of the Democrats and West Henveiru MP Hassan Latheef.

Waheed – who served as caretaker Maldivian president from 2012 to 2013 – had been serving as a special advisor at the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) up until the recent presidential campaign. He left the PPM amid internal conflict after President Muizzu won the PPM-PNC presidential ticket.

Waheed backed JP’s Qasim – who won just 5,460 votes in the first round of the September election.

Neither Waheed nor Qasim back any candidate in the election runoff. However, Qasim’s running mate Ameen Ibrahim, and Waheed’s son Jeffery Salim Waheed had backed the then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who lost the election to Muizzu.