President Solih appeals for support during meeting with Nasheed

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed he appealed Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed’s endorsement for the runoff during a meeting between the two on Sunday.

Nasheed, the driving force behind The Democrats, visited the President’s Office on Sunday morning, to meet President Solih.

Speaking to the press after the meeting – President Solih said he and Nasheed discussed the happenings in the local political arena at present including how to proceed following the resolution passed by parliament on instructing Elections Commission (EC) to hold a constitution referendum to decide the system of governance in the Maldives and the runoff round of the presidential election slated for September 30^th.

“Did say they (The Democrats) will stand by its neutral stand for the runoff,” the president added.

President Solih said despite The Democrats’ decision against supporting either of the candidates in the runoff, at Sunday’s meeting, he held discussions with Nasheed, for Nasheed’s endorsement, in his individual capacity.

“We will be revealing the details of this at a later time,” he stressed.

With respect to the constitutional referendum, President Solih said he and Nasheed agreed to work on the referendum after the runoff.

Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb, a member of the Democrats, submitted the resolution, which calls for a constitutional referendum to decide on changing the system of governance in Maldives, from a presidential system to a parliamentary system, on September 12. The Parliament voted to pass the resolution with the unanimous vote of 35 MPs, including some from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), on last Wednesday afternoon.

Holding a constitutional referendum before the runoff had been the condition put forth by The Democrats to form a coalition with MDP for the runoff.

In light of the condition, President Solih said it was impossible to hold a constitutional referendum before the runoff; reaffirmed by the Elections Commission (EC) citing their legal obligations ahead of any sort of election. The president stressed that despite his agreement to hold a referendum, he stands by his earlier views on the system of governance.

Nasheed’s meeting with President Solih comes after a failed attempt to meet the opposition PPM-PNC coalition’s leader, former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom for discussions on a constitutional referendum. Yameen, who is imprisoned, had rejected the request from Nasheed to meet him.