As the MDP chairperson election intensifies, one argument has come to dominate the campaign: that the chairperson must remain neutral in order to oversee a free and fair presidential primary. But there is a problem with that claim.
According to the MDP’s own standing orders, the chairperson does not administer presidential primaries. That responsibility belongs to a five-member committee appointed by the party’s National Council, a system that was used in the 2023 primary between Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Mohamed Nasheed and in previous presidential primaries before that.
In his latest column, Mohamed Saif Fathih argues that the party’s rules were deliberately designed to separate presidential primaries from elected party leaders because senior leadership figures are often contenders or political actors themselves. Expecting a chairperson to somehow exist outside factional politics, he writes, misunderstands the purpose of the office.
The column also revisits how the 2023 primary committee was formed, examines competing interpretations of the MDP’s standing orders and questions whether the current neutrality debate is being applied consistently: https://maldivesindependent.com/by-saif-fathih/the-great-neutrality-myth-mdp-chairperson-never-meant-to-pun-presidential-primaries-6682
Column By Saif Fathih:
Saif Fathih is a columnist at the Maldives Independent and a serving member of the Malé City Council for Galolhu North. With his educational background in communications, international studies and public policy, he previously worked as a journalist, editor and public policy advisor, with roles including senior policy director at the ministry of national planning and editor of Ocean Weekly Magazine. Saif began his career as a radio producer and presenter at Minivan Radio, writer for Minivan Daily, and translator for the British High Commission and the European Union Mission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He is also the host of Ithuru Vaahaka, the Maldives Independent podcast.
