MP Hassan Ahmed Joins PNC, Leaving MDP

Inguraidhoo MP Hassan Ahmed, known as Hassantay, has officially parted ways with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to align himself with the People’s National Congress (PNC), the main ruling party.

Hassantay took to social media to announce his departure from the main opposition party. In a post on X, he shared a photograph of himself submitting the PNC membership form to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who serves as the party’s leader.

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Hassantay, who initially entered politics as an MDP activist and had been a close aide to former President Mohamed Nasheed, had shifted allegiance to then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the internal dispute between Solih and Nasheed for control of the MDP.

Elected to Parliament in 2019 after two unsuccessful attempts, Hassantay now joins the ranks of MDP MPs who have defected to the PNC following the opposition party’s defeat in the previous year’s presidential elections.

On December 28, 13 MPs from the MDP had already made a similar move to join the PNC. This latest shift further reduces the MDP’s parliamentary strength, which had initially secured a supermajority with 65 seats in 2019. 

However, defections to other parties, including the Democrats and now the PNC, have brought the MDP’s current count to 42 MPs.