The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party is a political party of the Maldives. On 2 June 2005, the nation’s 50-member parliament voted unanimously to allow and operate political parties in Maldives. DRP subsequently submitted its registration on 21 July 2005 and was the second registered political party in the second Republic of the Maldives. DRP has the third largest number of members among all political parties in the Maldives.
On 2 June 2005, the nation’s 50-member parliament voted unanimously to allow and operate political parties in Maldives. DRP subsequently submitted its registration on 21 July 2005 and was the second registered political party in the second Republic of the Maldives. At the first multi-party parliamentary elections in the Maldives on 9 May 2009, the DRP won 36% of the seats in the parliament, becoming the party to win the most seats. However, DRP gained the second most votes with 27.5% of the votes compared with the 35.3% of votes gained by the Maldivian Democratic Party
In 2011, the first leader of the party, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom removed himself from the party amid contentious conflicts of interest within the party and political competitiveness. He formed a new political party called Progressive Party of Maldives. It was a point where DRP had a huge debt following the defeat in the 2008 Presidential Elections with Ahmed Thasmeen Ali as the running mate of Gayyoom. Once Gayyoom left, the party was led by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali who had to face the inherited debt of 32 Million Rufiyaa. This was the biggest challenge for him as the leader of the party. Following the defeat in the first round of Presidential Elections 2013, Thasmeen Ali being the running mate of former president Dr Waheed, DRP decided to support MDP in the second round of the elections, disappointing a lot of members of the party. MDP was defeated in the second round by PPM. Ahmed Thasmeen Ali then decided to join MDP, leaving DRP in the hands of the current leader Mohamed Nasheed, who courageously took up the place of duty, when two leaders on two occasions, had left the party to perish. Taking up the leadership, Mohamed Nasheed promised reform and recovery in many aspects of the party. He had stated that the party was in ICU at the moment, as audited and unaudited debt of the party would round up to a figure as big as 10 Million Rufiyaa.
Mohamed Nasheed (Colonel) (2013–2019)
The current leader of DRP is Mohamed Nasheed . He became the leader of the Party on18 November 2013, after receiving majority of the votes at the 142nd council meeting. Soon after taking up the leadership, Mohamed Nasheed, as a determined leader, announced a logo contest open for all, to change the logo of the party. It was part of the re-branding and reforming of DRP. The logo to win the 1st place was “Rising Star” designed by Modern Arts. The logo was inspired from a verse of a poem by Muhammad Jameel Didi who was a famous poet and a political figure of the Maldives. Currently, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party holds one seat in the parliament. Party congress was scheduled to be held in August this year, in accordance with the decision by the council of DRP.
Party's Objectives
According to the party's literature, The objectives of DRP are:
Strengthening and protecting the existing bonds of Islamic unity.
Grooming a new generation of well-disciplined and talented youths who will carry the mantle of national progress, in the years ahead.
Upholding justice.
Modeling the Maldivian society to reflect the aspirations of the people.
Protecting the Maldives from detrimental external influences.
Facilitating easy access to basic services such as housing, education and healthcare for every citizen.
Introducing a new generation of youthful leaders with the vision to fashion domestic affairs in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.
Creating a service-oriented population working steadfastly to promote the well being of the people.
