The failure of the PPM candidate during the recent local council election has sparked mixed feelings among supporters. Contrary to popular belief, some hardcore PPM supporters were not unhappy, while the majority expressed extreme dissatisfaction. There were, however, a few who seemed content with the failure.
In the run-up to the presidential election campaign, PPM Feydhoo seniors searched for a suitable council candidate and identified two individuals, Abdullah Saeed from Benhaage and Sharafzaad Saeed. Abdullah Saeed was a dedicated PPM activist who worked tirelessly for Yameen's success during the presidential election, while Sharafzaad Saeed was known to support Hassan Saeed and joined PPM to contest the election. His business partner, Hussain Rasheed, also joined PPM along with him.
Both candidates applied to contest the party primary, with Abdullah Saeed meeting all the strict eligibility criteria, while Sharafzaad did not. Nevertheless, his application was accepted and filed, raising questions about the selection process.
During the primary campaign, Abdullah Saeed's campaign was led by the PPM presidential campaign team, while Sharafzaad's campaign was led by his family and business partner.
In the end, Abdullah Saeed easily defeated Sharafzaad in the primary, and the latter graciously congratulated the winner, assuring full support during the council election. As agreed, Sharafzaad accompanied Abdullah Saeed in door-to-door campaign activities.
After the primary, four candidates applied for the local council election: PPM candidate Abdullah Saeed Benhaage, MDP candidate Aswan, and independent candidates Abdullah Saeed Bulbulge and Saeed Shakir. Interestingly, Bulbulge Abdullah Saeed is an MDP member, and Saeed Shakir is said to be closely connected to the Adhaalath Party and Qaumee Party.
During the campaign, there were alleged attempts by Bulbulge Abdullah Saeed's supporters (who were also PPM activists) to negotiate with Benhaage Abdullah Saeed for financial incentives in exchange for withdrawing Bulbulge's candidacy. However, Benhaage Abdullah Saeed firmly declined such offers.
PPM candidate Abdullah Saeed's supporters believe that someone may have influenced Saeed Shakir to contest with the purpose of harming the PPM candidate.
The campaign continued with full intensity, and Saeed Shakir's team made aggressive attempts to defame the PPM candidate's character. Some members of Sharafzaad's family were involved in making nasty comments during Saeed Shakir's campaign, leading to a formal case being filed against one of them.
The election results showed a vote distribution of approximately 1:6:6.3:0.5, with Saeed Shakir receiving 1 vote, PPM Abdullah Saeed securing 600 votes, MDP Aswan getting 630 votes, and Bulbulge Abdullah Saeed obtaining 50 votes.
The shocking outcome left both PPM Abdullah Saeed and Saeed Shakir's supporters emotionally affected. PPM supporters experienced difficulty coming to terms with the defeat.
Various questions now linger among PPM supporters:
- Did the failure result from not complying with the eligibility criterion at the beginning?
- How did Sharafzaad receive the primary ticket despite not meeting the eligibility criterion?
- Why did Sharafzaad's family and friends not join PPM when he sought to win the primary?
- Why did prominent members of Sharafzaad's family support Saeed Shakir's campaign while Sharafzaad remained with Abdullah Saeed? Was there a double game involved?
- What motivated Saeed Shakir to contest the election?
- Why did PPM supporters request Benhaage Abdullah Saeed to offer money to Bulbulge Abdullah Saeed to withdraw his candidacy when he is an MDP-related candidate?
- Why were hardcore PPM supporters not unhappy despite their candidate's defeat?
These answers are crucial for PPM's candidate to succeed in the upcoming parliamentary election.
Finally, congratulations to Aswan and MDP for the success, and best wishes for the endeavours.
