Democrats open to negotiating with all political parties: Ilyas

Sep 10, 2023, 10:47 AM
Ilyas Labeeb voting.

Ilyas Labeeb voting.

The Democrats, which came third in Saturday's presidential election, have said they are open to negotiating with all political parties for the run-off round scheduled for September 30.

The party's presidential candidate Ilyas Labeeb told reporters on Sunday afternoon that decisions would be taken after consulting within the party. He said no decisions have been made yet.

"We have not closed any doors. We have not decided whether to talk to certain groups or not. We are a political party and political parties will discuss political matters with other political parties," he said.

Ilyas said Democrats are open to holding negotiations with all politicians.

When questioned whether he considered the decline in the number of votes received by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as a victory, Ilyas said the Democrats are still a very young party and he would not describe the first election as a victory or failure.

Ilyas said people questioned him during the campaign on the course of action that would be taken if the party placed third in the election.

The opinions of party members and supporters were sought for that question, Ilyas said, but he did not reveal what the majority of the supporters wanted.

Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu secured a significant victory with the most votes in Saturday's presidential election.

Adhadhu's preliminary results from all 574 ballot boxes show Muizzu in the lead with 100,691 votes or 45 percent.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate, trailed behind with 85,260 votes or 38.2 percent.

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