Malé, Maldives – Minister of Economic Affairs Fayyaz Ismail won the MDP chairperson seat with 58 percent votes against MP Imthiyaz Fahmy on Saturday.
Minister Fayyaz won 28,514 votes while MP Imthiyaz won 20,856 votes. Results indicate that while MP Imthiyaz won majority in the capital city 1,920 votes against Minister Fayyaz’s 1,873 votes, Addu City voted predominantly for the cabinet Minister with 2,348 votes against the parliamentarians 2,177 votes.
Notably, the voter turnout is also higher in Addu City for MDP internal elections.
MP Imthiyaz is an avid supporter of the Speaker Nasheed while Minister Fayyaz is a vocal supporter of President Solih.
The landmark elections come at a time when the political party is split into two factions between two Presidents; former President and incumbent Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed and incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Political pundits state that the winner of the Chairperson seat will be a significant indication of the route the party will take for the 2023 Presidential election.
Upon his win, Minister Fayyaz tweeted to this effect stating that the results indicate the commitment of MDP members to the incumbent government for the 2023 presidential elections.
While President Solih stated yesterday he has yet to make a decision regarding the 2023 primaries, Speaker Nasheed has repeatedly expressed his commitment to running for the 2023 primaries.
