President Muizzu confident PPM-PNC will secure supermajority in Parliament

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has expressed confidence the ruling coalition – composed of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People’s National Congress (PNC) – will secure a supermajority in the Parliament.

Speaking at the inauguration of the PNC headquarters on Wednesday night, President Muizzu, the leader of PNC, said there was a meeting of the joint senate meeting later, after which the two parties will begin their campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

President Muizzu said that while he acknowledges that the campaign will face challenges, the challenges must be treated as incentives.

He said that the PPM-PNC aims to develop the country and work for the betterment of its people “for the sake of country and religion.”

President Muizzu said that his administration needs support from both parties.

“This work is being carried out with a national approach. Therefore, everyone is equal before my eyes in this,” he said.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the then-main ruling party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had secured a supermajority in the Parliament with 67 seats. But following differences between then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and then-party leader Mohamed Nasheed, 14 parliamentarians, including Nasheed himself, left the MDP for a new party – the Democrats.

While MDP has lost its supermajority, it still controls a majority in the Parliament.

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom had been serving as the leader of the PPM-PNC coalition when President Muizzu was elected as the coalition’s candidate. But just short of a week into President Muizzu’s administration, Yameen left PPM, and announced plans to form a new party – the People’s National Front (PNF).