At a specially-convened session of the party’s national council on Monday, nearly 95 percent of those in attendance voted in support of the no-confidence motions against Dr Didi and Alhan Fahmy, the vice-president.

Alhan Fahmy is today holding a ‘free MDP’ protest against what he considers as the undue influence of former President Mohamed Nasheed on the party.

Dr Didi meanwhile argues that the vote taken on Monday was not in conjunction with the version of the party constitution currently registered with the EC.

“The October 2010 amendments to the constitution are not registered. It cannot be practised until it is lodged there. It is very clear in the Commission that [the vote] is totally against regulations,” said Didi.

Neither the President or Vice President of the EC were responding to calls at time of press, while the EC’s Director General Ahmed Tholal said he was not in a position to comment on the matter.

Speaking with local media after handing in his complaint, Didi said: “As you know the Elections Commission acts as the parent organisation to all political parties, and so only the party’s basic regulation submitted and approved by the commission is effective.

“Under the current legitimate basic regulation of the party there is no room to take a vote of no confidence against the President or the Vice President of the party, something on which even the members of the Election Commission agree,” he contended.

When Minivan News asked how tenable his position would be within the party should his complaint be upheld by an EC investigation, Dr Didi declined to comment.

He also mentioned that the changes were not sent to the EC for approval due to the negligence of the chairperson. The chairperson of the party when the amendments were made was Mariya Ahmed Didi, while the current interim chairperson of the party is Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik.

The no-confidence motion came after the council decided that both Didi and Fahmy were issuing statements in contradiction of the MDP’s agreed official line that the government of President Nasheed was illegitimately removed in a coup d’etat on February 7.

“I forwarded the resolution because [Alhan and Didi] have been making malicious statements intended to incite chaos and conflict among ordinary members of the party and the party activists. Making such statements at such a fragile time is damaging to the party,” Ghafoor told Minivan News on Monday.

Dr Didi today met with President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, reporting to local media that he had discussed the issues facing the country in his personal capacity rather than as a member of the MDP.

Speaking to the media after this meeting, Didi said: “The MDP leadership is currently in a legal void, therefore I have used this opportunity as an individual.”

He said that the discussions involved the restructuring of the Committee of National Inquiry (CNI) as well as the all-party roadmap talks which he felt would suffer due to the divisions within the MDP leadership.

Didi added that he had been asked to meet with the President on numerous occasions previously but had declined out of respect for his party’s position.

“My interest does not lie in gaining position – my interest is in the security and safety of the nation,” said Didi.

Minivan News was unable to reach a spokesman from the President’s Office for comment on the President’s meeting with Dr Didi.