Without a doubt, as two and a half years pass under President Muizzu’s tenure, the people are utterly disillusioned. The country’s economic situation has worsened, citizens’ pockets have grown thin, corruption and injustice have become commonplace, and today the voice of the Maldivian people cries out for nothing less than a different day. They are calling for a captain who can rescue the nation from the great economic disaster it faces, fatten the pockets of the people, restore the fraying social fabric, and steer the country into a safe harbour.
What Maldivians hope for in 2028 is that the mistake of 2023 will not be repeated. It is the hope of handing the reins of the country in 2028 to a strong leader who can give real colour to the dreams people carry today. Those hopes are now tied to MDP’s leadership. That the party’s members put forward, in the upcoming presidential race, a leader who will honestly and faithfully implement the policies MDP formulates for the good of the people, and who will guarantee a “struggle-free” tomorrow for Maldivians — this is truly one of the greatest dreams and hopes Maldivians hold today.
Defeating this government — whose policies have failed, whose promises have been cast aside, and which continues to show the people mere mirages — in the upcoming presidential election is the biggest aim of the opposition MDP today. The party must now arrange its political chessboard around a proven formula for ensuring the 2028 election is not lost. Put simply, 2028 is not an opportunity for MDP to “take a risk” or “run a test.” Because if any mistake causes the party to lose, what the party and the Maldivian people will face is 10 years of loss and ruin. Ten years of their lives, gone.
So the question of who MDP will field as its presidential candidate to win in 2028 is still the biggest question many are asking today. That person must be a leader who can unite the whole party. That work can only be done by upholding the fine principles of diplomacy inside the party. Someone who gives room to differing views, who has the capacity to patiently hear out the grievances and complaints of members. Someone in whose own character lies the wisdom to resolve problems through consultation.
Without a doubt, the person taking the helm of the country after 2028 must be someone who can solve the major economic crisis facing the Maldives. The economic distress the country currently faces can only be overcome by steering foreign policy in the right direction. That leader must be someone the international community accepts, someone with strong ties to other nations, someone who understands diplomacy very well. Otherwise, even if MDP does win the presidential election, one may soon begin hearing people say that nothing has changed from the government they replaced.
In any case, a close look at those who have so far shown interest in defeating President Muizzu in 2028 and taking office, many today are describing only one person in the MDP leadership as embodying the qualities outlined above. That is Abdulla Shahid — the party’s current President, and the Foreign Minister of the last MDP government.
Shahid has stood out as someone who, since joining MDP 13 years ago, has stepped forward with courage through every challenge the party has faced and has remained unwavering in his service to it. Whether the party was in opposition or in power, he has set the finest example of serving the country through the party platform. During MDP’s political struggle against President Yameen’s oppressive rule, he was imprisoned. After the party won the 2018 presidential election and returned to power, he was entrusted with one of that government’s most important ministries. As Foreign Minister in President Solih’s administration, he displayed extraordinary leadership during the global COVID pandemic that struck early in that term. At a time when the entire country’s economy had ground to a halt and citizens faced going hungry, the financial and medical assistance the MDP government was able to secure came about under Abdulla Shahid’s stewardship.
With MDP now marshalling its forces for the 2028 presidential race, the question of which leader can deliver the party victory — and spare thousands of its members another five years in the wilderness — is one every member must weigh carefully, with an independent mind. Which leader, setting aside enmity and emotion, giving patient room to differing views, and running an energetic campaign, can return the party to power? It is a delicate decision, and the weight of it falls on MDP’s members.
Among those who have so far announced across various platforms that they will contest the party’s upcoming presidential primary, a mere glance at political experience, the wisdom they would bring, and the qualities a leader must possess is enough for many within the party itself to say today that the best answer for MDP in 2028 is Abdulla Shahid.
