Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former president Mohamed Nasheed arrive at an election campaign rally ahead of their parliamentary election on Saturday, in Male, Maldives April 4, 2019.
Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party is seeking at least 44 seats in the 87-member Parliament for a majority to pass legislation needed to implement pledges from last year's presidential campaign. His coalition currently has 52 seats, but one partner with 22 seats is now aligned with former strongman Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
Opposition politicians came together in a grand alliance to defeat their common foe, Yameen. But soon the coalition cracked and despite repeated efforts, Solih failed to secure parliamentary approval for promised commissions to inquire into corruption, the disappearance of a journalist and the killing of a blogger during Yameen's rule.
"They are taking away the real issues. Corruption, health and human rights issues are not being highlighted in the campaign," he said.