Kulhudhuffushi was the only city where the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won all seats in the last local council elections. As with the last parliamentary election, the island with a large population of MDP supporters showed in the council election that it was a big "fortress" for the MDP.
But on Tuesday, the Kulhudhuffushi mayor and all the council members joined The Democrats, a new party formed by the MDP's faction that supports parliament speaker Mohamed Nasheed. The MDP lost Kulhudhuffushi in one swoop.
Kulhudhuffushi mayor Mohamed Athif explained the reason for the decision on Facebook. The decision was taken because the government has not done the work tasked by the people, he said. The mayor said he hears the complaints of Kulhudhuffushi people every day.
Athif said the Maldivian people elected the MDP in the last presidential election with great hope and expectation. Kulhudhuffushi gave a large majority to the MDP with the hope that economic and social opportunities would be facilitated to speed up the island's development and improve the standard of living.
Kulhudhuffushi mayor Mohamed Athif and council members.
"In addition to the work of the council under the decentralisation law, MDP members were elected to the two seats of two parliamentary constituencies and the seven seats of the city council to encourage the central government to fulfill the hopes pinned on it as well," Athif wrote on Facebook.
But nearly five years later, the complaint has been heard unceasingly every day that the government has not been able to deliver the development of Kulhudhuffushi anywhere close to what the people hoped, Athif said.
Athif said he was forced to withdraw support from the MDP and resign from the party because the government failed to take any concrete action to address the public's concerns.
Athif told Adhadhu that he believes he would be negligent to the public by staying in the MDP.
Asked if he would continue cooperating with the government, Athif said he would not obstruct any work done for the betterment of the people of Kulhudhuffushi.
He said the council has been cooperating to date but the problem is the government's slowness and failure to carry out projects.
Some MDP members believe that public officials elected on MDP tickets should resign after leaving the party. Former members appointed to political posts on the party's slots are also being sacked for leaving the MDP.
Athif believes that leaving the party is not a reason for resigning as mayor. It was not only MDP members who voted to elect him, he noted.
Resigning is not a solution and doing so would be a betrayal of the rights of voters, he said.
In the MDP's presidential primary on January 28, a majority of MDP members in Kulhudhuffushi voted for Nasheed. While Nasheed won 245 votes from the city, president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih received 219 votes.
But it is unclear whether the MDP or The Democrats enjoy majority support as only about 500 people had been eligible to vote on the island despite the large population of MDP supporters.
Henveiru West MP Hassan Latheef, who submitted the application to form The Democrats, said on Tuesday that the signing of all council members from Kulhudhuffushi was a major success for the party.
Athif is the only mayor to have signed for the party so far but six atoll council presidents have also joined The Democrats. They are the council presidents of Haa Alif, Shaviyani, Noonu, Baa, Vaavu and Laamu atolls.
