The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has elected four vice presidents during the its third annual congress, which concluded today.
The new vice presidents are the party’s spokesman Ibrahim Shareef (642 votes), MP Ali Waheed (645 votes), MP Ahmed Ilham (593 votes) and Umar Naseer, former president of the Islamic Democratic Party (502 votes).
Eight people stood for election to the post. The other candidates were Abdullah Mausoom (383 votes), Afrashim Ali (288 votes), Mohamed Saleem (239 votes) and Fathin Hameed (210 votes).
The party’s new leader is Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, who was was elected leader by default as no candidate stood against him, and will become the party’s presidential candidate. During the congress the party’s former leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also given the title of ‘Honorary leader’.
Ibrahim Shareef said the party was now looking forward to strengthening the relationship between the new leadership and its members.
”This is a very dynamic leadership,” he said. ”During this leadership many changes will be brought to our party.”
He said the party’s new leader Thasmeen was a “very intelligent and capable person.”
”The other three vice presidents are also very capable and won the election because of the popularity they have among the people,” he said.
DRP MP and new vice president Ali Waheed said he was pleased to work with the new leadership, describing the others as “very capable and experienced people.”
Waheed said with its new leadership the party would get stronger “day by day”. His next target, he said, was to “strengthen the relationship between the DRP supporters around the atolls.”
DRP MP and new vice president Ahmed Ilham said the public would see a difference in the party within six months.
Umar Naseer said the party would be “very active” during his leadership, and said his aim was to “bring the government’s administration to an end.”
Spokesman for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ahmed Haleem said he “regretted that the party’s educated people were not elected as vice presidents.”
”With this leadership I do not think they will achieve anything,” Haleem said.
”These new vice presidents will drop the party back 20 years. They are still at early 90s, we are at 2010.”
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