Nasheed and Solih travel to India on official visits

Former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have traveled to India on official visits.

Nasheed traveled to India on Thursday, and Solih, on Friday.

Nasheed’s two-day visit is to participate in the forum “Indian Ocean Region in a Transforming World.” However, the purpose of Solih’s visit has not yet been officially disclosed.

Both former presidents are widely regarded as having maintained close relations with India throughout their respective administrations.

Their visits come at a time of heightened internal tensions within main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Reports indicate that while Nasheed is contesting the upcoming MDP Chairperson election, Solih is backing the rival candidate, South Galolhu MP, Meekail Ahmed Naseem.

MDP has previously fared through internal divisions stemming from the emergence of separate factions aligned with Nasheed and Solih. The split was widely viewed as a major factor contributing to the party’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.

Internal divisions plague MDP ahead of the Chairperson election.

The visits by the two former presidents also come in the wake of a major setback for President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration and ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) in the recent local council elections and national referendum.

Notably, despite the government’s campaign in support of the proposal, a majority of voters rejected the referendum seeking to combine the country’s two main elections — something which the MDP expressed strong opposition to. Moreover, MDP secured several key council seats, including all five mayoral seats, emerging ahead in the elections.

Official referendum results showed that out of 221,111 eligible voters, 148,859 individuals, representing 68.7 percent, voted against conducting the two elections simultaneously. In comparison, 67,680 voters supported the proposal.

The current administration came to power following the large-scale “India Out” campaign, which called for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives.

The “India Out” movement was primarily led by former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom under the PPM/PNC coalition. Several current cabinet ministers and top government officials also participated in the campaign at the time, including Defense Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel, Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam and Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

As a result, international media outlets initially raised concerns that diplomatic relations between the Maldives and India could face challenges under the present administration. Relations between the two countries was hit by further strain during the early stages of President Mohamed Muizzu’s tenure following controversial comments made by several deputy ministers concerning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its people. 

Since then, President Muizzu’s administration has taken multiple steps aimed at restoring and strengthening bilateral ties with India. Notably, President Muizzu has undertaken two official visits to India, while Prime Minister Modi paid a state visit to the Maldives during last year’s Independence Day celebrations. The visit resulted in the signing of several significant bilateral agreements, including a USD 565 million Line of Credit extended by India.