President of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed has decided to form a new political party.
Nasheed, who is also the Speaker of Parliament, initiated a separate political movement within the party called Fikuregge Dhirun following his loss in the presidential primary held back in January. After major conflicts with the government and its policies, all lawmakers from the faction tendered their resignation from MDP except for Nasheed.
As such, a total 12 of members resigned from MDP. The move came after Parliamentarian Ali Azim was expelled from MDP and banned from rejoining the party for at least one year over involvement in opposition political activities surrounding the Chagos Islands dispute.
The members who resigned from MDP held a press conference to announce the formation of a new political party, adding the new party will field a candidate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for September 9.