Nasheed praises opposition for fielding common presidential candidate
Former President Nasheed commended the “whole opposition” for its decision "to field a common presidential candidate"
Former President Mohamed Nasheed
Opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed has applauded the Joint Opposition, on its decision "to field a common presidential candidate".
The opposition parties on Friday night announced their decision to put forth a member from Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as a presidential candidate, with a running mate from Jumhooree Party.
The Joint Opposition comprises of MDP, Jumhooree Party, Adhaalath Party and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
In a tweet posted after the announcement, former President Nasheed commended the “whole opposition” for its decision on “an MDP presidential candidate with a JP running mate”.
“I believe this is the way forward in restoring democracy in the Maldives”, said the former president, who earlier on Friday revealed his decision to withdraw from the presidential race, despite having won MDP’s ticket with over 40,000 votes
Nasheed had said that his decision was based on the fact that the Elections Commission continues to maintain that he will not be able to contest in the polls.
He further added that the Commission’s “decision is illegal and they must be sanctioned”.
The former president is to officially relinquish his presidential ticket at MDP’s third congress on Saturday.
