MDP National Council to Reconvene to Elect Interim Chairperson

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is set to reconvene its National Council on tomorrow night to elect an interim chairperson, following a disputed meeting last week that ended without a clear outcome.

The party said the meeting would begin at 8.30pm at the Function Five event hall near the former West Park area. Unlike the previous sitting, which was closed to the public, media access will be permitted at Monday’s meeting.

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The chairperson’s post has been vacant since the resignation of Fayyaz Ismail, who held the position of economic minister in MDP administration. 

The last National Council meeting was convened to appoint a temporary chair, with three candidates proposed: former parliamentary speaker Mohamed Aslam, former Dhidhdhoo MP Abdulla Waheed, and Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Gafoor Moosa. The session became contentious after the chair ruled that Aslam was ineligible to contest on the grounds that he is not a member of the National Council, prompting objections from some members.

Abdulla Waheed received 48 votes, but with 96 members initially recorded as present, the chair ruled that the threshold for election had not been met. The sitting then descended into disputes over procedure and attendance, and was abandoned without a clear outcome.

Supporters of Abdulla Waheed later argued that he had secured the necessary majority. Their position was reflected in a report issued by deputy chairperson Ibrahim Waheed, which stated that one member had left the hall before the vote. On that basis, he said 95 members, excluding the chair, had participated, making 48 votes sufficient for a simple majority.

Despite this, Abdulla Waheed subsequently declined the interim chairperson role. In a statement, he said he had agreed to contest the position after encouragement from a member of the MDP parliamentary group, and after consulting party president Abdulla Shahid and former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. However, he said he no longer believed he could effectively discharge the responsibilities of the office due to the conduct of those who had backed his candidacy, which he said would hinder his work.

He said he was refusing the position for the sake of party unity and urged senior figures to work together, cautioning against behaviour that could weaken the party ahead of upcoming local council elections.

Following disruptions, party president Abdulla Shahid wrote to deputy chairperson Ibrahim Waheed requesting that the National Council be reconvened. In his letter, Shahid said the process to elect an interim chairperson had not been properly concluded and called for the vote to be completed in a clear and undisputed manner. While he did not explicitly reject the deputy chair’s account of the vote, he maintained that the overall proceedings had broken down and could not be treated as validly concluded.

The renewed sitting comes amid longstanding internal divisions within the MDP. The party has for years been shaped by rivalry between factions aligned with former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a rift that intensified ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Nasheed and his supporters later broke away to form The Democrats and campaigned against Solih, a move widely seen within the MDP as contributing to its defeat. Many from Nasheed’s camp have since returned, adding both energy and complexity to internal party dynamics.

Party figures say these alignments were reflected in the interim chair race, with Abdulla Waheed seen as being backed by figures linked to Nasheed’s camp, while Aslam is regarded as closer to those aligned with Solih. With Hanimaadhoo MP Gafoor now the sole candidate being put forward, and with the support of former chairperson Fayyaz as well as figures close to Solih, party officials hope tomorrow night’s meeting will proceed smoothly and bring clarity to the leadership issue.