The first meeting of The Democrats interim council will be held on Saturday, the new party formed under the leadership of former president and speaker Mohamed Nasheed has announced.
Party spokesperson Afshan Latheef told Adhadhu that the party is now focusing on determining a candidate for the presidential election and working on a manifesto to be used in the campaign.
“Since the election is so close, [the council meeting] will discuss necessary decisions to be made in order to comply with the timeline announced by the Elections Commission to field candidates," she said.
The Elections Commission (EC) will open for candidates' applications on July 23. The window to submit applications will close on August 3. The voting will take place on September 9.
Afshan also said the party has not yet decided about holding the congress and that announcements will be made when decisions are final.
Nasheed has suggested fielding a joint opposition candidate to defeat President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who is running for re-election under the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ticket.
But the coalition of Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) insists that jailed opposition leader former president Abdulla Yameen would be their candidate.
