Ahmed Nihan has said that he will not be vying for re-election as parliamentary representative of the Villimale’ constituency.

Nihan, the pro-government MP who has represented Villimale’ for two terms, said this to online news Avas.

Nihan is the only atoll-born MP to be elected for a seat in the Male’ constituency. While he was born in GDh. Thinadhoo, he later registered to Villimale’.

Speaking to Avas, he said that he made the decision not to vie for re-election back in 2014, in order to give someone younger the chance to replace him, and expressed his belief that MPs should have the courage to give up their positions for future generations.

He also expressed his wish to continue working in the parliament in 2019. It is likely that he will vie for the Thinadhoo seat, since he has been carrying out campaign events in the atoll.

Nihan also took full responsibility for Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s poor result in Villimale’ at the last local council election, saying that him not living in the constituency is the reason for the ruling party’s loss.

He highlighted that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) received the majority in Villimale’ in the 2014 local council election, not PPM, but that he had won the Villimale’ seat a few days later with 60 percent of the votes.

He said that losing is part of politics and that it would be a mistake to believe that one will always win in a multi-party democracy.