As President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih prepares to take oath of office, he has said that the day he lets go of his parliament seat “will be the saddest day of my life”.
Solih has been a member of parliament since the age of 30, and this year marks his 25th year as a lawmaker.
Speaking at Sunday’s parliament sitting, the Hinnavaru constituency MP noted that he would have to abandon the parliament seat “in two weeks or so”.
“That will be the saddest day of my life,” he added.
Solih, who was first elected to as an MP from his atoll of Faadhippolhu in 1994, had been actively involved in establishing a number of important laws and regulations in the country since.
He has been the parliamentary group leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party since 2011, and later filled the role of PG leader in the Joint Opposition as well.
Solih emerged victorious against President Abdulla Yameen in the 2018 presidential election, winning 58.4 percent of the votes.
Yameen, after initially conceding defeat, showed bitterness over his loss later and filed a petition at the country’s top court seeking to annul the election.
However, the Supreme Court ruled against the annulment saying that there was no legal basis to do so.
