The Democrats announced their vice-presidential candidate on Sunday, naming former STO Managing Director (MD) Husen Amr to run alongside their presidential candidate MP Ilyas Labeeb. The announcement comes just ahead of the Elections Commission’s deadline for filing nomination papers, which expires on Monday.
Amr’s selection came as a surprise to many, as speculations had pointed to Vice-Speaker of Parliament Eva Abdulla as the probable choice for running mate alongside Labeeb. The reason for the change remains unclear.
Labeeb, being the sole candidate who put forward his name for the party primary, underwent a vote to gauge the support of The Democrats’ members. Over 90 percent of those voted in the party’s primary endorsed his candidacy as their presidential candidate.
The Democrats’ decision to pair Labeeb with Amr is seen as an effort to strengthen their ticket and garner support from diverse segments of the electorate.
The party, led by former President and current Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, is scheduled to to submit its presidential candidate’s nomination papers to the Elections Commission today.