Ali Azim: MDP Would Have Lost 2023 Election Even Without Party Split

Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih could not have secured victory in the 2023 presidential election even if the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had remained united, said Ali Azim, leader of the 19th Parliament's parliamentary group, during a recent MDP decentralisation conference in Kulhudhuffushi.

At the conference, MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail acknowledged the party’s split as a key reason for its defeat, stating that the division within MDP, which occurred in the final stretch of the last presidential term, contributed to the loss. However, Azim disagreed, asserting that President Ibrahim’s defeat would have occurred regardless of the split or any collaboration with the breakaway faction, The Democrats.

Azim cited the party's deviation from its core principles as the driving force behind the schism. He criticized the MDP government for failing to curb corruption, misuse of office, and other wrongdoings, which, in his view, directly contradicted the party's foundational values of opposing such actions. "Instead of stopping them, they continued to grow within the MDP government," Azim remarked.

The pro-Nasheed faction of MDP eventually broke away to form The Democrats, with Ilyas Labeeb contesting in the presidential election, where he secured the third-highest number of votes.