A lawsuit has been filed in the Civil Court seeking to annul the official announcement and timeline released by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) regarding its upcoming chairperson election.
The case was submitted by legal counsel Abdulla Shairu, who contends that the decisions made by the party’s election committee violate the MDP’s primary governing statutes.
According to the filing, the current election announcement obstructs the campaign activities of former President Mohamed Nasheed, who is contesting for the chairperson position. The lawsuit further alleges that the announcement directly contravenes Article 46 of the party’s constitution.
The article in question stipulates that all matters pertaining to the chairperson election must be conducted under the supervision of the President of the party’s Appeals Tribunal. The plaintiff is seeking a court ruling to affirm that the responsibility for planning and managing all election-related affairs rests solely with the President of the Appeals Tribunal.
The lawsuit highlights that during the previous elections held in 2017 and 2021, the authority to oversee the chairperson election was vested in the President of the Appeals Tribunal.
While this legal challenge has been brought before the Civil Court, the party’s election committee has already finalized and announced the candidate list for the chairperson position.
The committee has qualified three candidates for the race: former President Mohamed Nasheed, Galolhu South MP Meekail Naseem, and Ibrahim Mohamed (Vaadu) from Laamu Fonadhoo.
Under the MDP’s constitution, the chairperson is the highest official responsible for organizing and managing the party’s internal affairs. The chairperson serves a five-year term.
The chairperson’s responsibilities include representing the party in communications with the government and other political entities, organizing internal elections, presiding over the Congress, National Council, and National Executive Committee, and overseeing the party’s administrative functions.
