MDP to elect a new leader next month

Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), following its decision to hold the election to elect a new leader, has opened submission of candidacy for the post.

The post of MDP’s leader had been vacant for a long time before the party appointed former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as its interim leader.

MDP, in a statement on Tuesday, announced their decision to hold the election to elect a new leader on March 2^nd.  Interested members have been instructed to file their candidacy forms before 2:00pm on February 20^th.

The completed form must be submitted alongside debt and criminal record clearance by the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA).

Former foreign minister Abdulla Shahid is presently unofficially campaigning for MDP’s leadership. Solih, the interim leader, has yet to comment on the election.

MDP was unofficially incepted in 2003 and registered after the new constitution came into force in 2005. The first leader of the party was Ibrahim Ismail (Ibura). The post was later filled by former attorney general Dr. Mohamed Munawwar and former Fisheries Minister Dr. Ibrahim Didi.

Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who held the post for the longest period, resigned from the party last year following internal conflicts with Solih.