Jumhoory Coalition aims to succeed onto second round of polls

Jumhoory Coalition has said that their aim for the September presidential elections is to succeed to the second round of polling.

Speaking at a Jumhoory Coalition press conference today, coalition’s vice presidential candidate Dr. Hassan Saeed said that their calculations indicate that the coalition will succeed into the second round of the presidential polls, along with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

“The reality is that nobody can win the presidential elections through the first round. The reality is that MDP and Jumhoory Coalition will go the second round,” Dr. Saeed said. “From the work we have done and the surveys conducted so far, our current aim is to have Honorable Gasim Ibrahim’s name in the first place of the presidential election.”

When asked of the amount of votes they expect for different candidates to receive, Dr. Saeed said that he has no intention of revealing such numbers and that they will decide within the coming week on whether they need to change their target for the polls.

Regarding the criticism faced by Gasim Ibrahim of his wealth and influence, Dr. Hassan said that they do not believe that being wealthy is a crime and that he is proud of Gasim to have attained his wealth without resorting to deceit.

When asked of his comments during the 2008 presidential election that a tycoon should never be elected as the country's president, Dr. Saeed said that the “current situation is different” and that Gasim now has a very capable team to support him.

Dr. Hassan Saeed said that Jumhoory Coalition’s campaign is ongoing with feverous momentum, that they have active groups in a number of atolls and that they are planning a major event for 16th of this month.