The Democrats Refuse to Back PPM in Presidential Election

Hopeful presidential candidate of the newly formed The Democrats, Ilyas Habeeb, has stated that they will not be endorsing the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in the upcoming presidential election.

According to Ilyas, The Democrats will not be lending their support to the PPM in the scheduled September 9 presidential election. Instead, the party is engaged in discussions to identify a candidate who can foster collaboration among various political factions. 

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“We will not be aligning ourselves with the PPM in the presidential election. Our intention is to jointly nominate a candidate in cooperation with the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives National Party (MNP), and work collectively towards that candidate’s success,” he asserted.

When questioned about his response if the candidate agreed upon by the parties turned out to be the PPM candidate, Ilyas clarified that the ongoing discussions did not involve nominating a staunch member from any party.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, from the The Democrats, initially proposed the idea of a unified candidate. Subsequently, on the 19th of this month, he, along with JP leader Gasim Ibrahim and MNP President Mohamed Nazim, held a meeting during which they reached an agreement to field a single candidate representing all the opposition parties, subject to PPM’s concurrence.

“We will also engage in discussions with the PPM and Maldives Reform Movement (MRM to seek their approval. Our three parties are determined to put forward a united candidate for the presidential election,” Ilyas stated.

When questioned about the possibility of forming a joint candidate, Gasim affirmed that the agreement was indeed aimed at selecting a single candidate to represent all parties involved.

As preparations are underway, the Democrats, JP, and MNP are all gearing up to nominate their respective party candidates for the presidential race.