News1st Exclusive : MDP to decide on Presidential candidate soon

Colombo (News1st) - The Maldivian Presidential election is scheduled to be held later this year and Former President Mohammad Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has already thrown in his hat into the race. Mohammad Nasheed the 4th president of the Maldives and the country's first democratically elected President was ousted in 2012. Members of the MDP claim that Nasheed was ousted in a coup. His Vice President at the time Dr. Mohammad Waheed took over the reigns of the presidency afterward. In the Presidential election that followed, Abdulla Yasmeen of the PPM won the Presidency by a narrow margin with the support of Former President and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his stepbrother. In the aftermath of the election, Nasheed was convicted under the under the Anti-Terrorism Act of Maldives, a move which has been described by many international observers as politically motivated. The Supreme Court of the Maldives earlier this year issued an order which officially called the imprisonment of Nasheed and a number of other opposition MPs as unconstitutional. However, following some high profile arrests including that of the Chief Justice and a declaration of a state of emergency by President Abdulla Yameen, the supreme court went back on this ruling. Due to the conviction of former President Nasheed he is constitutionally not allowed to run for President at present. Taking this into consideration the MDP National Council convened last night to agree on a party dateline to reach a decision on the upcoming Presidential Election. 85 Members were present and 72 Members voted in favor of the dateline proposed by Nasheed. A statement by the MDP noted that the National Council has decided that if they are unable to field Nasheed as their presidential candidate, the National Council that will decide on an alternative Candidate or a course of action.