Opposition candidate Solih begins country-wide door-to-door campaign

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the opposition coalition’s presidential candidate, has begun a country-wide door-to-door campaign.

Solih, who has previously gone door-to-door in capital Male’ City and Hulhumale’, officially began the country-wide door-to-door campaign in a ceremony in Addu City’s Maradhoo on Saturday.

After the ceremony, Solih and his running mate, Kaashidhoo MP Faisal Naseem, began visiting homes in Addu to gather support for September’s election.

Solih said that going door-to-door is the most important part of the campaign as it would help them gather information on the expectations of people and share information on the party’s manifesto.

Opposition candidate Solih in Addu City

On the same day, his spokesperson, Mariya Ahmed Didi, began the opposition’s door-to-door activities in Male’ at Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s campaign site.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mariya said that Male’ residents wish to meet President Abdulla Yameen to ask him the whereabouts of his first vice president, Dr. Mohamed Jameel, and cabinet members, including former home minister Colonel Mohamed Nazim, since it had been them who had met with the citizens to gather support for President Yameen during his campaign in 2013.

MP Shahid (second to right) at MDP's campaign site

Also at the ceremony in Male’, former speaker and North Henveiru MP Abdulla Shahid said that there are still plenty of islands President Yameen has neglected to visit in the past five years.

He also said that it was MDP that introduced door-to-door campaigning in Maldives in 2008.

Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) began their door-to-door campaign in Male’ on Friday. Their team is set to visit homes to people of 13 constituencies. While President Yameen’s running mate, Dr. Shaheem Ali, was present at the ceremony, he did not visit any homes in Male’ with the team, which only consisted of members of the cabinet.