Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who represented the Hinnavaru constituency for 25 years, has alleged that the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) candidate, Mohamed Abdul Rahman, spent MVR 30 million to secure the seat in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Speaking at a rally in Hinnavaru last night to celebrate the MDP’s majority win in the recent local council elections, Solih stated that Mohamed’s victory was achieved through a combination of the discouragement following the Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) presidential election loss in 2023, government influence, and spending MVR 30 million.
"According to the information I have received, the current MP spent over MVR 30 million on this constituency to win that seat. MVR 30. In a way, I take pride in the fact that this island's seat is valued at such a high price," Solih remarked.
Solih noted that since the MDP’s inception, the party had consistently held the Hinnavaru parliamentary seat. He highlighted that the recent parliamentary election marked the first time this record was broken.
"Looking at our history, this is the only time we have lost a parliamentary election since the founding of the MDP and its ideology. In 30 years, this is the first time this island's seat has been won by someone opposing our vision and views," he said.
Solih expressed confidence that the MDP would reclaim the Hinnavaru seat in the future.
After Solih’s 25-year tenure as the MP for Hinnavaru, the seat was next won by Jeehan Mahmood. However, she lost her re-election bid in the last parliamentary polls by a significant margin of 542 votes.
In that election, the winning PNC candidate, Mohamed, received 1,478 votes, while Jeehan secured 963 votes. Independent candidate Abdulsalam Moosa received 699 votes.
