The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has said the party leadership will propose to merge the posts of president and chairperson.

Speaking on Sangu TV on Thursday night, Fayyaz said the merger would strengthen the party's running. The current party's road map also includes maintaining only one of the positions, he added.

"This is a very important change. Some people may not find it so easy to understand, but I think it is a very important change for the future of the MDP," Fayyaz said.

Fayyaz is the Chairperson of the MDP while Abdulla Shahid is the President.

After merging the two positions, the party leadership will propose to amend the party constitution so that the party leader will not be able to contest the next presidential election during his term, he stated.

Under the MDP government, the party leader will not be allowed to hold any government position, membership of parliament or job in an independent institution, Fayyaz said.

He said the purpose of the change is to allow the party to run freely from political factions within the party. With this change, he said, the people will also be able to assess whether a person who is the party leader has the ability to govern and manage.

"Every time there is power, all the senior and strong people in the party are going to different positions of the state. They are going to the parliament. They are going to the cabinet. So the party is getting very small. And only the government runs. Our target is to ensure the party runs strong even when we are in power."

With this change, the party leader will be paid a good salary and will always be involved in running the party, he noted.

Fayyaz added that changes will be made to the MDP's operations and they will be announced in the future. The MDP's extraordinary congress will be held before August 15. A specific date has not yet been set.