MP Ali Nizar has said that the leadership of MDP influenced the primary elections held by the party.
In the primary held yesterday 5 sitting MPs lost the party ticket. They are MP Nizar, MP Mohammed Abdullah, MP Mohammed Abdul Kareem (Rukuma), MP Mohammed Nazim and MP Brigadier (Rtd.) Ibrahim Didi.
Speaking to the media, Nizar said that close associates of former president Nasheed conducted a smear campaign against him.
Nizar lost against Ibrahim Nazil the president of MDP’s Hithaadhoo south region. Naazil is the husband of prominent lawyer Hisaan Hussein who also won MDP’s ticket for Thulhaadhoo constituency.
Nizar said that he will support Nazil and stated that it is not Nazi’s fault that there are problems within the party. Nizar suspected that members of PPM joined MDP so that they can defeat Nizar. Nizar also suspects that more than 100 people voted twice in yesterday’s primary and that the leadership of the party did not allow him to stop illegal voting.
Many new members joined MDP for the primaries. Activists of the party claimed that the new members joined just for the sake of the primaries.
Nizar said that even though MDP did not win a majority in the last two parliamentary elections, the leadership still refuses to change their ways.
“There is no chance to reform the party. They do not change the regulations” said Nizar. Nizar also said that the leadership did not support him because he refuses to obey the orders of a specific person. Although he did not name the person it is likely that he was talking about former President Nasheed.
Nizar also said that he does not believe that MDP is democratic anymore and hence he does not want to go forward with MDP.
MP Nizar was one of the most active MPs in the last parliament and a harsh critic of former President Yameen.
