President's Office's former Legal Affairs Minister, Azima Shakoor has decided not to contest for parliament.

While Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)'s secretary general Abdul Matheen has confirmed this to RaajjeMV, Azima is one of the many individuals that were given a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) ticket for the parliamentary elections, without a primary, last December.

RaajjeMV understands that she decided not to run for parliament due to "a health issue."

She was to compete for Holhudhoo constituency, and had even traveled to the island in Noonu atoll to meet with residents.

Following her decision, the ticket was given to Ahmed Hamdhaan Nasir from People's National Congress (PNC), a new political party spearheaded by former President Yameen.

This was revealed at an event held on Friday night, where PPM and PNC announced decision to form a coalition- called Progressive Congress; both parties are led by former President Yameen.

The coalition has thus far given tickets to a total of 63 individuals, without a primary, and have announced that they will hold primaries in the remaining constituencies.