After securing “kingmaker” status in the first round of the presidential election, the interim council of The Democrats decided on Monday night to set a deadline of next Wednesday for either the ruling party or the main opposition party to accept conditions for endorsing a candidate for the second round.
The council meeting took place after failing to reach an agreement with either the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) or the Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) coalition.
For the MDP, the council decided to propose signing an agreement to hold a referendum on the system of government on September 28. The proposal to the PPM-PNC coalition was signing an agreement for allocating a share of the government to The Democrats.
Council member Mohamed Shifaz, former minister at the President’s Office under the current administration, proposed giving a deadline of Wednesday and not backing either side if an agreement is not reached by then.
After a debate that lasted an hour and a half, Shifaz’s resolution was passed with 50 votes in favor. The chair did not announce any dissenting votes.
Briefing the press after the meeting, Democrats interim chairman Hassan Latheef said the party did not want to propose holding a referendum to the PPM-PNC without discussing it with jailed opposition leader former President Abdulla Yameen.
"I expect that this discussion will take place with the PPM-PNC when President Yameen is in a position to talk. We will discuss. It is one basic principle that we're advocating for," he said.
Earlier this week, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed requested a meeting with Yameen through a letter sent by Secretary General Fathmath Niusha from the parliament secretariat to the Maldives Correctional Service. But the prisons authority was unable to make arrangements after Yameen refused to meet Nasheed.
Democrats leader Nasheed and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih meanwhile spoke on the phone before Monday night's Democrats council meeting.
Solih told the press earlier on Monday that the MDP has agreed to hold a public referendum but proposed conducting the polls after the presidential election.
"I have told them it would not be so practical [to hold the referendum before the second round]. Let's set a date on this matter after the vote. We also discussed a date," Solih told reporters.
The Democrats was formed by loyalists of Speaker Nasheed who left the MDP after the former president’s loss in the party’s presidential primary in January.
Relations between Solih and Nasheed, who was MDP president until his departure, deteriorated after the primary.
None of the candidates managed to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election on September 9. PNC candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu emerged as the frontrunner with 101,635 votes (46 percent) as President Solih trailed with 86,161 votes (39 percent).
The Democrats candidate Ilyas Labeeb came third with 15,839 votes, making the party’s support crucial for winning the run-off on September 30.
