Falah says Sinan chose to prioritise family and back Saeed

Former Addu MP Mohamed Sinan (Sina) has decided to give up his ticket to spend time with his family, PNC Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Falah said Tuesday.

Sinan, who won the PNC ticket, announced his resignation on April 29.

He said he had decided not to contest the by-election after meeting with the people of the constituency for the past three days. He wrote that he believed the best option for the by-election was to step back and give a chance to a new candidate.

Therefore, the PNC announced that it had given the ticket to Hithadhoo Moolekede constituency councilor Ahmed Saeed, who contested the Hithadhoo North primary. Replying to a question from a journalist, Falah said Sinan had decided not to contest the by-election after consulting the party leadership.

Saeed and Sinan are close friends, he said, adding that Sinan and his supporters are participating in door-to-door activities.

“So at this time, I want to note that Saeed was given the ticket so Sinan could spend time with his family. It is Sina’s own decision after meeting the party leadership,” he said.

Sinan lost his seat after the Supreme Court ruled on the 12th of this month that he had lost his seat due to non-payment of a loan of MVR 3.8 million taken from Maldives Islamic Bank.

The Election Commission has announced that the by-election for the Hithadhoo North constituency will be held on June 6. Besides Saeed, former Addu mayor Abdul Sodiq is contesting the seat. Sodiq is contesting on the MDP ticket.