Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced last night that internal disputes within the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have now been resolved.
Speaking at a rally held last night in his island of origin, Lh. Hinnavaru, to celebrate the party's victory in the April 4 Local Council Elections, Solih said that all leaders of the party had held discussions aiming to resolve the conflicts within the party. He reflected that the disputes had been similar to what the party habitually experiences.
Disputes arose within the party after former President Mohamed Nasheed and former party Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail were denied the opportunity to speak at the party's victory rally held at the Artificial Beach. This led to a 55-signature petition being submitted seeking a no-confidence vote against interim Chairperson Abdul Ghafoor Moosa (Gapo).
Solih said that the internal rifts had disheartened general members of the party.
"We have not stayed without discussing the matter since that day. When these issues arose two days ago, all us leaders, all senior officials of the party, have been holding discussions, exploring ways of resolving the issue," Solih explained.
Solih said that he has spent most of Thursday engaged in such discussions.
"By God's grace, by this point, we have found a solution to this issue. As of now, we have found a way where the entire leadership can work together, in line with the wishes of the general membership," Solih stated.
The solution will be officially announced sometime on Saturday, Solih said.
Solih went on to assure that the party's leadership will be united in working towards winning the 2028 presidential elections. He asserted that no one will be excluded from these efforts.
MDP's efforts will be organized in such a way that the current Chairperson, party President, and other leaders can work collaboratively, Solih said.
He expressed confidence that 2028 will see the election of another MDP administration.
The failure to allow Nasheed and Fayyaz to speak at Saturday's rally gave rise to discontent against Ghafoor.
Nasheed, and several of his supporters, subsequently boycotted the rally.
Following this, members reservations against Ghafoor further spiked when MDP's Deputy Chairperson (Financial) Ibrahim Waheed and Legal Director Ahmed Mauroof were summarily dismissed, without justifiable reason provided.
Party members then submitted a petition seeking to hold a National Council meeting to vote on the removal of Ghafoor from the post of Interim Chair. The petition carries the signatures of 55 National Council members, including several senior officials of the party.
