New Study Paper - The Maldives: Return of democracy and challenges ahead
January 15, 2019
Solih’s victory at the elections was on the back of the support of the Maldives United Opposition, a coalition of four political parties – those of former Presidents Nasheed and Gayoom, tourism tycoon Qasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party, and the Islamist Adhaalath Party. Some leaders of these coalition partners have questionable pasts themselves. The motive behind the alignment of these four strange bedfellows, who have serious ideological differences and have been at loggerheads with each other in the past, is best explained by the fact that the leaders of all four parties were either in jail or in exile when the elections were held.
