In Maldives, opposition parties have agreed to field a joint candidate in the Presidential elections to challenge incumbent Abdulla Yameen.
Today’s announcement came after former President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday said that he has withdrawn from the presidential polls scheduled for September 23rd.
Nasheed is in self-imposed exile in London.
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said it has agreed to join several other parties, including a breakaway faction of Yameen’s ruling party, to form an alliance.
Opposition sources in the Maldives said the MDP’s parliamentary leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is tipped to be named as the common candidate.
Yameen declared a state of emergency in February in the Indian Ocean, a move critics say was aimed at averting his impeachment. All his main rivals have meanwhile been jailed.
Source: AIR