Campaigning as the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate for the September 9 election, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday night laid out a bold vision for Laamu Gan and criticized rival campaigns.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Gan after covering Thaa atoll islands, the president said the government planned to work towards developing Gan and Fonadhoo as an urban center during the past five years.
But some projects have faced delays, he conceded, blaming the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Large-scale projects were needed to develop bigger islands such as Gan but difficulties arose with planning and securing financing, he said.
"But our plan hasn't changed. Our aim is to develop Gan as an urban center and develop the facilities required for that here. Our aim is to change to a 25,000 population in 10 years, in the next 10 years," he said.
Gan's population will not be increased through forcing people to relocate, the president said. Housing, healthcare, education and public transport will instead draw people to Gan, he said.
"What we need to do is what would interest people; develop here what people would want to migrate for," Solih said.
Providing housing would be the first order of business, he said, pledging to build 1000 housing units in Gan next year.
"The total aim is to build 5000 housing units here," he said.
Work on upgrading the Gan hospital to tertiary status is ongoing and the development of a cancer hospital will also proceed as planned, he said.
"Rival campaigns can't be seen"
Criticizing the campaigns of rival candidates, the president said he was conducting a "cool campaign" and that other candidates would take four or five weeks to catch up.
"By then the election will be over. The results will be announced when they start properly campaigning. Then they would have to work for the 2028 election," he said.
Despite the president's criticism, People's National Congress (PNC) candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who is seen as the main challenger for the incumbent, has visited several atolls for his campaign.
The Democrats led by the president's former ally, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, has also been campaigning across the country.
