Monthly meeting between coalition leaders yet to be scheduled

Monthly meeting between ruling coalition leaders is yet to be scheduled, RaajjeMV has learnt.

While there seems to be a rift in the alliance, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had, last week, said that a meeting will be held this week.

At a press conference held last Thursday, the president said that the coalition leaders had held discussions earlier that day, and that the meeting will be held after his visit to Laamu atoll this past weekend.

While President Solih is to take part in these monthly meetings, along with his deputy Faisal Naseem, RaajjeMV understands that the meeting is not included in his calendar for the week. He will depart to Sri Lanka on an official visit on Sunday.

The coalition leaders are; Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader, former President Mohamed Nasheed, Maumoon Reform Movement (MRM)’s former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Adhaalath Party’s Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Jumhooree Party (JP)’s Qasim Ibrahim.

At their first ever meeting since forming an alliance in November last year, they agreed to meet 'at least once a month'.

With only two days remain in January, the failure to hold the meeting adds fuel to reports that the coalition is on the verge of collapsing.

Two coalition partners are currently involved in a dispute, with JP leader Qasim accusing MDP of sidelining the party and announcing plans to form a coalition with “other parties” for April’s parliamentary elections.

It all started after MDP decided to compete in all 87 constituencies in the election, while JP claims that the coalition partners had agreed to “distribute” the parliament seats. MDP denies that such an agreement ever existed.

Last week, reports also surfaced that the Jumhooree Party was planning to impeach President Solih through parliament. However, Qasim, who is also the current parliament speaker, was quick to deny this.

In addition, a JP aligned lawmaker has proposed a constitutional amendment that will bar former presidents from contesting in parliament, a move which MDP describes as a direct attack on its leader.

President Solih on Thursday announced that he will not ratify such an amendment that will restrict anyone’s rights, even if passed through parliament.