Malé, Maldives – Speaker of the Maldives Parliament, today, said that 53 of the members who won seats at the MDP internal elections support the parliamentary system.
Local news Addulive reports that Nasheed said this in a Whatsapp group of MDP members. Nasheed has also tweeted from his verified Twitter account to this effect stating that the majority of the winners of the MDP internal elections support the parliamentary system.
It is a great advancement for Maldives that majority of the winners [of the MDP internal elections] for the national council support the parliamentary system.
Mohamed Nasheed
The national council is the highest body of the ruling party MDP elected for five year terms.
While former President Nasheed and his supporters maintain that they won the majority of the MDP elections, local news reports that the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s faction won majority seats.
Local news Mihaaru reports that 65 seats were won by members who support President Solih. Three cabinet ministers and three managing directors of government companies are cited to be among the winners for President Solih’s faction.
MDP has not officially released information on the factions formed between the two factions formed by political differences between the two leaders. Pundits say that this election will determine the popularity of Speaker Mohamed Nasheed against incumbent President Solih within MDP, amid political factions.
