Former Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail, who has resigned as Chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), said he stepped down due to obstacles the party began facing after he announced his intention to run in the 2028 presidential election.

Fayyaz announced his resignation in a letter shared on Sunday night, and elaborated further during remarks at an MDP national council meeting.

In his letter, Fayyaz said he is the only individual who has officially declared his intention to seek the party’s presidential ticket for 2028. He noted that his position as chairman has led to accusations that internal party decisions favour him, creating a shadow over the party’s work and contributing to major challenges in its operations. He added that the party’s leadership is increasingly perceived as prioritising personal gain over the interests of the country and the party, and called for this to be addressed.

The former chairman said he was being viewed as an obstacle to party adviser former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and party president Abdulla Shahid in carrying out their responsibilities with full authority.

Fayyaz stated that he is stepping down to allow ordinary members to have their say on the party’s leadership as he had promised, and stated that the party’s constitution must be revised to ensure that authority is not divided among multiple individuals.

Reflecting on his tenure, Fayyaz said he worked to keep the party united after being elected chairman in May 2022. He recalled that the MDP congress held in August 2022 aimed to prevent differences between former President Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed from turning into divisions. The two leaders agreed during the congress to resolve their differences through dialogue, he said.

Fayyaz said he attempted to prevent a scenario in which Solih and Nasheed would face each other in a primary to determine the party’s 2023 presidential candidate. At Nasheed’s request, he met the former president and his team five times in Parliament to discuss the possibility of Nasheed not contesting the primary, holding a vote on the system of government, and MDP supporting a parliamentary system.

He noted that these meetings did not result in an agreement. At President Solih’s request, discussions resumed, leading to an understanding between Solih and Nasheed to award Solih the MDP ticket without a primary and to hold a vote on the system of government before the presidential election. However, Fayyaz said the party leadership later decided that this agreement was not the best path forward and chose not to proceed.

Fayyaz was elected MDP Chairman on 23 May 2022, defeating former Maafannu North MP and then-party spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy.