MDP at 20: the party that lost its soul

The MDP celebrated its 20th anniversary last Thursday – which marked formal registration as the country’s first modern political party – grappling with uncomfortable questions about its new identity after the chastening loss of the presidency and parliamentary supermajority in the last election cycle.

“MDP was formed to fight for justice, social justice and democracy. That changed when maintaining political power became a priority for the party,” Ibrahim Ismail 'Ibra,' a founding member and first elected president of the MDP, told the Maldives Independent.  

“In order to maintain and consolidate power, they accepted politicians into the party – politicians who had helped maintain the unjust authoritarian system that MDP fought against. These politicians became powerful within the party and corruption and nepotism and other values that are antithetical to MDP values became a mainstay.”

As the anniversary prompted reflection about the 20-year journey since the introduction of multi-party democracy, many shared Ibra’s view of a party that has lost its soul. 

Others offered a broader perspective. 

In an op-ed on Dhauru, veteran editor Moosa Latheef credited the MDP’s struggle in the early 2000s – a movement forged through the sacrifice of men and women who risked everything for the cause – with Maldivians gaining “political and civil rights that citizens of no other Islamic country enjoy.” 

In contrast to the formerly ruling Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) led by the Gayoom brothers (presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom), both of which collapsed due to infighting, the MDP is the only party left intact after 20 years, Latheef observed, notwithstanding an acrimonious split that many blame for the 2023 election defeat. 

"What message can MDP give its members today with pride as it marks 20 years? 'What happened to the other parties that emerged in the Maldives? We, MDP, are still here,'" he wrote.

But the party’s transition from street activism to government brought both achievements and compromises, he suggested.

For Ibra, the defining moment was former president Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation in the wake of a violent mutiny by police officers and elements of the military on February 7, 2012. 

“What I know is this, the 2012 coup was a coup. It is clear as day. It would not have happened if the speaker of parliament [Abdulla Shahid] had not facilitated [former president Dr Mohamed] Waheed’s swearing in, which was illegal as it had happened outside of a parliamentary sitting. That is when the democratic agenda was derailed. Now he [Shahid] is the president of MDP. Those MPs who enabled the coup were accepted into MDP and they are now in power positions. This is why MDP can’t take positions based on its founding values,” he said.

“They gave up justice for political expediency. MDP became DRP,” Ibra concluded.

The main target of his ire was Shahid, who joined the MDP in April 2013 and went on to serve as a lawmaker in opposition and as foreign minister under president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The Maldives Independent has been awaiting a response from the MDP president since Tuesday afternoon.

What remains indisputable, however, is that a party that once moved mountains to secure a bill of rights now struggles to move people. In March, the MDP organised weekly protests, seeking to capitalise on public grievances about housing and inflation. But the turnout fell dramatically short of the large crowds that the MDP used to routinely draw.

“People are frustrated and fed up with the whole political system, not just MDP. People can see corrupt politicians and businessmen getting away after stealing millions. This is on everyone,” Mauroof Zakir, MDP MP for Baa Kendhoo, told the Maldives Independent, referring to the failure to recover US$ 91 million stolen from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation under former president Yameen.

“Maybe if the MDP government had taken action over the MMPRC scandal, it might have been different. People are fed up and also distracted by the influence of social media and fake news.” 

Mauroof, popularly known as Matey, is a trade unionist turned lawmaker. He argued that a lack of clarity over core beliefs and the mishmash of political ideologies within the party pose a fundamental challenge. 

The problem was further compounded by having to govern with coalition partners that opposed signature manifesto policies, he noted.

“I think the party’s founding principles are not clear. We have written that the party is a center-right party. But when we sell policies, we talk about social democratic values, worker's rights, addressing inequity and all that. At the same time, we talk about privatisation and other capitalist ideologies,” he explained. 

“If our values are worker's rights and social justice for everyone, I would not face pressure because I talked about tourism employees' rights in parliament. But I have been told it is difficult to get private funding to run the party because of things I say.”

Financial sustainability is crucial to regain public trust, he said.

“Whether relying on public funds or private funds it is always used to manipulate. When we have to beg big businesses for funds, we can’t talk about worker's rights issues or promote social democratic principles. Right now a lot of work is being done to institutionalise the party, but even then we need to be financially independent,” said the labour rights advocate.

Last week, the return of former president Nasheed and the reconciliation with his breakaway faction rekindled hope for consolidating the MDP base. 

Nasheed “came home” with a promise of restoring MDP to its former glory as the main opposition party turns its sights to sweeping the upcoming council elections. 

But for Ibra, the key to overcoming the malaise afflicting the party lies not in reinvention but rediscovery: “The way forward for the MDP is to go back to its founding values, whether they win elections or not.”