PPM opens candidacy for Guraidhoo primary

The main opposition party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has opened candidacy for its primary to select the party’s candidate for the upcoming Guraidhoo parliamentary by-election.

The Guraidhoo by-election is set to be held on April 15.

PPM’s spokesperson Heena Waleed told Sun on Monday that candidacy for the party’s primary will be open until 02:30 pm Tuesday.

The primary will be held on Friday, depending on the number of candidates, she said.

Meanwhile, the main ruling party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is set to hold its primary on Saturday.

The Guraidhoo seat had fallen vacant with the death of MP Ibrahim Riza on February 23. He died at the age of 55 years in a hospital in Malaysia after a two-year-long battle with cancer.

Riza, an attorney-at-law, had served at the Parliament for 13 consecutive years. He had been a member of multiple parliamentary committees, including the independent institutions committee, judiciary committee, and security services committee.

He had also served as vice president of the Judicial Service Commission during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration.

Riza had been elected to the Parliament as an independent candidate in 2009. He later joined PPM.