The
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is the first and the largest
political party in the
Republic of Maldives. It is a party with its stated goal being the promotion of
human rights and democracy in the Maldives. This party won the first ever multi-party elections in the Maldives with the support from all the other political parties in the 2008 elections against the former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The Maldivian Democratic Party failed in the first two rounds of the 2008 presidential elections and called for a coalition for change against the then dictator. All the Political Parties joined the alliance of national unity and won the election. Maldivian Democratic Party has the largest number of members among all the political parties in the Maldives.