Adhaalath Party’s media committee chair has said that the Joint Opposition will be announcing a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections ‘soon’.
Speaking on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee programme on Monday night, Ali Nazeer noted that the Joint Opposition has formed a committee, in their efforts to put forth a single candidate for the elections, adding that preparations ‘are underway’.
He added that this committee will be speaking to the media on the various updates in their work to do so.
Noting that their work ‘is moving at a fast speed’, Nazeer emphasized that the candidate will be announced while there ‘is enough time’, adding that it will be an individual that ‘will be accepted easily by the public’.
“A candidate will be announced before its too late. The committee’s work is headed in that direction,” he said.
Noting that Adhaalath will do everything to ensure that the candidate is accepted by the public, Nazeer said that all parties in the Joint Opposition have put aside their own agendas in order to ensure this.
When questioned whether the Joint Opposition will remain intact by the time the elections draws, he said that he does not deny that all parties ‘are different’ and that they will challenge each other when required. However, he assured that this will not have any negative effects on the Joint Opposition.
Also speaking on the Elections Commission’s announcement to hold by-elections to replace the 12 unseated opposition lawmakers, Nazeer said that the Joint Opposition has been holding discussions on the matter, and that they will be giving importance to the ruling issued by the Supreme Court on 1st February. Noting that a number of rulings have been issued by the Supreme Court in relation to the matter, Nazeer said that ‘none of them say that the 12 MPs have lost their seats, however, the ruling issued on February 1 directly states that they have not’.
The Joint Opposition comprises of Adhaalath, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP, Jumhooree Party (JP) and former President Maumoon’s Abdul Gayoom’s faction of the ruling party.
While the Joint Opposition has announced plans to unite behind a single candidate for the presidential elections, former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that this candidate will be decided after individual party primaries.
The first round of the presidential elections is slated for September.
