MDP moves to eliminate president and vice-president roles at congress

The main opposition party, the MDP, is set to abolish its president and vice-president posts at its congress, which begins on Thursday evening. 

Sun has confirmed that the amendment will be tabled during the three-day congress, which runs from Thursday to Saturday.

Under the proposed constitution, the highest authority in the party will be the Chairman. The vice-chairman will be next in line and will assume full responsibility for running the party. The move effectively restructures the party’s leadership model and removes two positions that have remained vacant for months.

The posts became vacant after former Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, who had been appointed as MDP president without an internal election, resigned to contest the party’s presidential primary. Hisaan Hussain, who served as vice-president, also resigned to participate in the campaign.

The idea of abolishing the president and vice-president roles was previously advocated by former MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail, who argued that the party’s leadership structure needed streamlining.

MDP Deputy Chairman Ibrahim Waheed told reporters earlier that the congress has received an overwhelming response, with more than 980 delegates registered so far. The MDP is currently the second-largest political party in the Maldives, with 55,399 members registered at the Election Commission.