MDP primary: leader Nasheed remains only contestant as deadline ends

While the deadline for contestant applications for the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) primaries ended on Saturday, party leader and former President, Mohamed Nasheed is the only candidate to have submitted bid for candidacy.

The party's Elections Committee chair, Mohamed Ibrahim Manik confirmed to RaajjeMV 'while the deadline to apply ended at 12pm on Saturday, President Nasheed is the only candidate to have applied for the primaries'. Submissions were open from the 15th May onwards.

Earlier on Saturday, Nasheed's campaign team submitted his candidacy in the primary elections, slated for the 30th of May, at the opposition's head office in capital city Male'.

Nasheed's 'Jazeera Raees' campaign manager and Hithadhoo-North constituency MP, Mohamed Aslam had submitted the candidacy form on behalf of the self-exiled former president, which was received by the party's chairperson Hassan Latheef.

While the party's policies state that a candidate for it's presidential primaries must attain atleast 500 endorsements, the party leader's bid for the ballots was endorsed by a total of 7,739 signatures.

Nasheed's campaign 'Jazeera Raees' which translates to 'Island President' is proceeding full steam ahead with it's team having visited almost 30 islands thus far. The team has met and spoken with residents of capital city Male', it's urban extensions as well as outlying islands.

The former president has also spoken to residents of over 40 islands through skype, to garner support for his win in the upcoming elections.

While Nasheed's campaign team is in full force in the Maldives, he is currently in neighboring Sri Lanka, unable to return home as that means going back into incarceration. The former president was issued a 13-year jail sentence in March 2015, in a rushed trial that has been deemed 'deeply flawed and politically motivated'.