Maldives Opposition Party’s Hassan Lateef Resigns As President Of The Democrats

Hassan Lateef sent a message on the WhatsApp group with party members and thanked them for their cooperation while he was in the post.

Hassan Lateef

Source : X

The president of The Democrats – a major opposition party in the Maldives – has decided to resign from his position on Saturday.

Hassan Lateef resigned from his post because he said it was “very important at this” time, according to PTI. A senior official from the party said that though Hassan has resigned from the leadership role, it is uncertain if he has exited the party entirely.

After his resignation, Lateef sent a message on the WhatsApp group with party members and thanked them for their cooperation while he was in the post. According to Edition.mv, in the message, he said he was resigning because he ‘was unable to serve in the position at present’.

Meanwhile, a few senior leaders returned to their parent party. Democrats senior members Hussain Amru, Ali Azim and Mohamed Shifaz have switched to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Following a rift ahead of the September 2023 presidential elections, the Democrats Party was formed after some members broke away.

However, Shifaz, former MP Ali Azim has exited The Democrats to join the ranks of MDP.

In response, Shifaz said he has not officially joined any parties but will be seeking other avenues to hold the government accountable.

“I am required to look at the most viable option through which I can hold the government accountable,” as quoted by Shifaz Sun.mv.

One of the MDP factions continued allegiance to the then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who is seen as a strong Indian ally and had lost his bid for re-election to Mohamed Muizzu.

The other faction that went behind another former President Mohamed Nasheed, formed The Democrats. In 2024, Nasheed took charge as the Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of 68 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet.

The Democrats have stagnated, while the party faced defeat without securing a single seat at the most recent parliamentary election as well