Nasheed cannot fathom anyone else in charge: Qasim

Jumhooree Party (JP) leader and Maamigili constituency MP, Qasim Ibrahim greeting former President and Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed to Maldives | Photo: Mohamed Auzam

Former President and Speaker of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed is someone who is unable to fathom anybody, but himself as the leader of Maldives, Jumuhooree Party leader Qasim said.

In an interview to “Raajje TV”, Qasim, who was earlier speculated in a coalition with Nasheed heavily criticized him last night. “He (Nasheed) does not wish to see anybody but himself as the President of Maldives. It is not something he simply can fathom.”

Qasim also shed some light to his speculated coalition with Nasheed and his close allies. Nasheed himself went to Qasim’s Sun Island resort twice and talked about nominating Qasim as his ideal candidate for this year’s Presidential Election, Qasim said. “He said in every election it is I, who win the election. So it is high time that I should be elected as President. I simply smiled,” Qasim claimed Nasheed repeated this at the Parliament too, in informal discussions at the cafeteria.

In all meetings, Qasim said to have informed Nasheed that he does not have a budget to finance presidential campaigns anymore, especially after the big hit Qasim and his businesses took after the COVID19 pandemic.

However, Qasim does not want to be affiliated with Nasheed, as he will not let it be known as it is he who “destroyed” MDP, indicating to Nasheed’s allies’ new party registration.

It is now expected that if Nasheed decides to challenge President Solih for the Presidency, he will be doing it on his own, through the yet-to-be registered The Democrats. People close to both parties claimed that Qasim and Nasheed’s alliance failed to bear fruit after Nasheed’s proposal of Parliamentary Sytem, which Qasim always opposed.