'The Democrats'; a new political party spearheaded by Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed submits form to EC seeking approval to form the party on May 21, 2023. (Sun Photo/Mohamed Shaathiu Abdulla)

‘The Democrats’ - the new political party being formed by a faction which broke from the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – on Wednesday, has decided to file for registration with the Elections Commission (EC) on Thursday.

A tweet from the official twitter handle of The Democrats read that they will file for registration as a political party alongside the required membership forms on Thursday.

Nasheed, following his loss to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in MDP’s presidential primary, formed a separate faction with the party, ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’. With the resignation of all 12 lawmakers loyal to Nasheed, the faction is now headed in the path of its birth as a separate political party. Their resignation was prompted by the dismissal of the faction’s Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim for involvement in an opposition alliance formed alleging the government failed to act in the best interests of the Maldivian people in the case lodged with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) over the disputed maritime area between Maldives and Mauritius.

However, Nasheed, himself, has yet to resign from MDP, where he serves as the party’s leader.

Spokesperson of the ‘The Democrats’ Afshan Latheef earlier confirmed that a candidate from the party will contest the presidential elections slated for September 9th.