Five people have expressed interest in the position of Vice President of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC).

The candidates who have filed for this position — to be elected at the PNC congress this coming September — are Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed, Youth Minister Abdulla Rafiu, Baarah constituency MP Ibrahim Shujau, government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), and Nilandhoo constituency MP Fathmath Sauda. Of these, Saeed, Shujau, and Mundhu currently already hold the post of party Vice President.

Explaining why he is contesting for a second term, Saeed said his aim is to further advance PNC and sustain it as the strongest, most influential, and most service-oriented party in the Maldives. He noted that he is someone who has served the party with courage and steadfastness, without wavering, in both the most favourable and the most difficult of times.

Shujau said there are many reasons why he should be elected to the position for a second time. He highlighted that when the PPM government ended and the party’s “loud” figures fled, he was among the few who stood firmly beside the party’s leader; that during the time in opposition he did not hesitate to take the lead against the MDP; that he prioritised the party’s interests over personal ambition for office; and that he was the one who answered the most phone calls from ordinary party members.

The PNC Vice President will be elected by the party’s High Council members participating in the congress. Under the party’s constitution, when PNC is in power, the party’s President is the President of the Republic, and the Chairperson is appointed by the President. Therefore, at the upcoming congress there will be no need to elect the party President or Chairperson. The congress will only elect officeholders to the other senior party positions apart from those two.