Maldivian Democratic Party
Countrythe Maldives
AbbreviationMDP
Native nameދިވެހިރައްޔިތުންގެ ޑިމޮކްރެޓިކް ޕާޓީ
ColorsYellow
Governing bodyMaldivian Democratic Party Congress
ChairpersonAbdul Ghafoor Moosa (interim)[1]
PresidentAbdulla Shahid[2]
Vice PresidentHisaan Hussain
Parliamentary LeaderIbrahim Nazil
Deputy ChairpersonIbrahim Waheed
Ahmed Abdulla
FoundationNovember 10, 2003
Headquarters2nd Floor, Niusha, Lily Magu, Galolhu
Malé, Maldives
Youth wingMDP Youth Wing
Membership yearJanuary 2026
PositionCentre-right[3]
Membership (January 2026)43,784[4]
IdeologyLiberal conservatism[5]
Islamic democracy
InternationalInternational Democracy Union[6]
Websitemdp.org.mv

The Maldivian Democratic Party (Dhivehi: ދިވެހި ރައްޔިތުންގެ ޑިމޮކްރެޓިކް ޕާޓީ, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Demokretik Paati; MDP) is a centre-right political party in the Maldives. It was the first political party to be registered in the Second Republic of the Maldives.

The party is supportive of the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives. It won the first ever multi-party elections in the Maldives with the support from all the other political parties in the 2008 elections against then president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

History

There had not been political parties in the Maldives since 1952. The MDP initially submitted its registration on 24 February 2001. In 2001, the party's first president was Qasim Ibrahim. Although the Maldivian Constitution allows political parties to operate, the MDP's application was rebuffed. After the people fighting for their rights on the street and the death of Evan Naseem, MDP declared its existence in exile from Sri Lanka on 10 November 2003. Initially, it was formed by a group of 42 people, which included members of parliament, a former cabinet minister[who?] and leading businessmen, including Qasim Ibrahim and Ahmed Easa. Members on its first general council were elected on 13 February 2004. Although the MDP was not recognized by the Maldivian government, it began operating in Maldives on 30 April 2005.

On 2 June 2005, the members of the People's Majlis unanimously voted to legally recognize political parties. The MDP subsequently submitted its registration on 26 June 2005, becoming the first political party to be registered in the Second Republic of Maldives.[7]

Throughout 2006, the opposition faced restrictions on freedom of assembly, and the government continued to arrest opposition activists. In March 2006, the government introduced a "Roadmap for Reform" and subsequently introduced several bills in parliament. In August 2007, voters decided via referendum that the Maldives' new constitution should provide for a presidential system of government (vice parliamentary). The special Majlis completed its work and the new constitution took effect in August 2008.

In accordance with the new constitution ratified by then-President Gayoom on 7 August 2008, the first round of presidential elections was held on 10 October 2008. Due to no single candidate receiving 50% of the vote, a second round was held on 29 October between President Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed won with 54% of the vote.[8]

At the first multi-party parliamentary elections in Maldives, on 9 May 2009, the MDP won 26 out of the 77 seats in the parliament, netting the second-most seats. However, the MDP gained the most votes, with a total of 35.3% (50,562 votes) which is a 10.39% increase from the first round of 2008 presidential elections when the MDP was allied with other parties. From the elections, Gayoom's DRP gained 27.5% of the votes (39,399 votes) which is a 12.5% decrease from the first round of the 2008 presidential elections. In November 2013 elections ex-President Mohamed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) narrowly lost and Abdulla Yameen of PPM was elected as new president of Maldives.[9]

In the 2018 presidential elections, the MDP candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih defeated incumbent President Abdulla Yameen, and was sworn in as president on November 17, 2018. He promised to fight against widespread corruption and investigate the human rights abuses of the previous regime.[10] In the April 2019 parliamentary election, the party won a landslide victory, and won 65 of 87 seats of the parliament.[11] This was the first time a single party was able to get such a high number of seats in the parliament in Maldivian history.[12]

Post-2018 election

2023 Maldivian Democratic Party presidential primary

In June 2022, former President and Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed announced that he would be contesting against the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the Maldivian Democratic Party's primary election amid a growing political rift between the two. The rift originally started with a disagreement between the two on changing the Maldives' presidential system of governance to a parliamentary system, with Nasheed preferring the latter. Nasheed also accused the President of enacting policies contrary to the founding principles and ideology of the party, occasionally voting against bills sent by the MDP government in parliament.[13] He also alleged that the President had removed more than 39,000 of the original party members from the membership register, stating that they were less likely to vote for him and potentially twist the primary election in the President's favor.[14] The results revealed that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the primary election with 61.10% of the vote.[15][16]

On 17 May 2023, 12 members of Maldivian Democratic Party left the and formed a new party called The Democrats.[17] The twelve members defected from the MDP after the warnings of expulsions of four MDP MPs in their faction from the party as well as the expulsion of Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim (who was also a Nasheed loyalist). The faction on several occasions violated the party's whip line and launched a no-confidence motion against multiple government ministers in Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's cabinet.

On 21 June 2023, the party's leader and the faction's leader Mohamed Nasheed quit after 18 years of being a member of the party and joined the newly created Democrats.[18]

The Democrats had announced that they would contest in the 2023 Presidential election in September.[19][20] But the party came third place with 7% of the vote, making them ineligible to run in the second round.

In the first round of the 2023 elections, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih received 39% of the votes to the PNC/PPM candidate Mohamed Muizzu's 46%. In the second round, held on 30 September 2023, Mohamed Muizzu won the second-round runoff of the Maldives presidential election, beating incumbent president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, with 54% of the vote to his 45%.[21] Some attribute this loss to The Democrats and others to dissatisfaction with Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's presidency.

On 29 December 2023, several members of the MDP defected to PNC.[22]

In the 2024 Maldivian parliamentary election, the party was wiped out in an landslide defeat, losing 56 seats and winning just 9.[23]

Democrats coming back to MDP

The Democrats passed a resolution to dissolve the party and all the members to join the Maldivian Democratic Party. This resolution called for reuinification and a stronger opposition.[24]

MDP marked its 20th anniverary on 26 June, during its anniverary the party launched a special podcast by MDP's Youth Wing, cake cutting ceremonies and more events in each island.[25]

MDP had proposed a structural change in its leadership by proposing to merge both its chairperson and president roles into one role, where the officeholder can't contest in MDP's presidential primaries, prohibited from holding any government roles, as well as not being able to serve as a member of parliament.[26]

MDP had received criticism for not investigating the MMPRC scandal during Sollih's time as president and that the party "gave up justice for political expediency".[27]

Internal tensions

Tensions erupted within the party as Mohamed Nasheed was denied to have a speech at a rally held in Malé to celebrate the party's win in the 2026 local elections.[28] This resulted in Nasheed and other supporters to boycott the event, which led to MDP President Abdulla Shahid appealing not to further divide the party.[29]

MDP's Legal Director Ahmed Mauroof and MDP Deputy Chairperson Ibrahim Waheed was dismissed from their posts with no reason being specified.[30][31] A petition was underway to take a no-confidence vote against interim chairperson Abdul Ghafoor Moosa.[32] Later, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that the internal disputes have been solved.[33] Nasheed thanked Fayyaz Ismail for his efforts to solve it.[34] Waheed, Mauroof were reinstated and the no confidence petition have been withdrawn.[35]

The MDP National Council announced as part of a reform of the party to form a committee to advise the chairperson. The committee's members include Mohamed Nasheed, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Abdulla Shahid, Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, Ibrahim Nazil, Fayyaz Ismail.[36]

Election results

President elections

ElectionParty candidateRunning mateVotes%Votes%Result
First RoundSecond Round
2008Mohamed NasheedMohamed Waheed Hassan44,29324.91%97,22253.65%Elected
2013Mustafa Lutfi95,22445.45%colspan="2"Annulled
96,76446.93%105,18148.61%Lost
2018Ibrahim Mohamed SolihFaisal Naseem134,61658.34%colspan="2"Elected
2023Mohamed Aslam85,98939.12%109,54845.94%Lost

People's Majlis elections

ElectionParty LeaderVotes%Seats+/–Position
2005[a]None68,93131.10%New2nd
2009Mohamed Nasheed51,18430.81%152nd
201475,67040.78%02nd
201996,35445.83%391st
2024Abdulla Shahid64,65030.73%532nd

Notes

  1. ^ In the 2005 election, candidates ran as independents endorsed by the MDP.

See also

References

  1. ^ Thaufeeq, Shazma (8 December 2025). "MDP elects Abdul Ghafoor as interim chairperson". The Edition. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  2. ^ Mohamed, Naizak (20 February 2024). "Shahid wins MDP leadership uncontested". Sun. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Global Leadership Series: WION interviews Mohamed Nasheed". WION. 26 August 2017. Archived 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 September 2018. – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "Maldivian Democratic Party". Elections Commission of Maldives. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "The political framework of the Maldives". International Trade Portal. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Members | International Democracy Union". February 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Elections Commission". Elections.gov.mv. Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  8. ^ "Presidential Election 2008 Statistics". Elections Commission of Maldives. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Maldives election: Abdulla Yameen wins run-off vote". BBC News. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  10. ^ Rasheed, Zaheena (17 November 2018). "Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sworn in as new Maldives president". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Maldives election: Early results show victory for president's party". BBC News. April 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "Majlis 19: An overview in numbers". Avas. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  13. ^ Ahmed, Farah (1 December 2022). "Nasheed to contest against Pres Solih in MDP Presidential Primary". The Edition. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Nasheed: Removal of MDP members will become reason for President's defeat". Sun. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  15. ^ Udhma, Fathmath (29 January 2023). "Pres. Solih wins MDP Presidential Primary 2023". Raajje TV. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Prez Ibrahim Solih wins Maldivian Democratic Party presidential primary, gets ticket". ThePrint. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  17. ^ Udhma, Fathmath (24 May 2023). "EC approves the formation of 'The Democrats'". Raajje TV. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Nasheed Resigns From MDP". Maldives Republic. May 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  19. ^ Abdulla, Lamya (17 May 2023). "Speaker Nasheed to form a new political party". The Edition. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Nasheed loyalist MPs leave MDP". Avas. May 17, 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  21. ^ Junayd, Mohamed (2023-10-01). "Maldives opposition candidate Muizzu wins presidential vote". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  22. ^ "13 MPs who left MDP signs to PNC". Sun. December 28, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  23. ^ "Maldives: Pro-China party led by Muizzu wins by landslide". BBC News. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  24. ^ "Ex-President Nasheed returns to Maldivian Democratic Party". IBC World News. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  25. ^ Shahid, Malika (25 June 2025). "MDP to mark 20th anniversary with year long celebrations". The Edition. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  26. ^ "MDP proposes party chairperson, president merger". Atoll Times. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  27. ^ Junayd, Mohamed (2 July 2025). "MDP at 20: the party that lost its soul". Maldives Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  28. ^ Thaufeeq, Shazma (6 April 2026). "Internal tension erupts as Nasheed is denied opportunity to speak". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  29. ^ Thaufeeq, Shazma (6 April 2026). "As internal MDP tension heats up, Shahid appeals not to divide". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  30. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (7 April 2026). "MDP dismisses Legal Director Mauroof amidst internal disputes". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  31. ^ Thaufeeq, Shazma (7 April 2026). "MDP Deputy Chairperson Iburey dismissed from post". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  32. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (8 April 2026). "Petition underway to take no-confidence vote against MDP Interim Chair". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  33. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (11 April 2026). "MDP's internal disputes now resolved: Solih". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  34. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (11 April 2026). "Nasheed thanks Fayyaz for efforts to resolve MDP rifts". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  35. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (11 April 2026). "Waheed, Mauroof reinstated; Ghafoor no-confidence motion withdrawn". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  36. ^ Mohamed, Mariyath (11 April 2026). "Solih, Nasheed part of MDP advisory committee to the Chair". The Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2026.