Presidential Bid

Gayoom's defected New Maldives trio with Dr. Hassan Saeed as the front runner contended for 2008 Maldives Presidential Election as a independent candidate, Hassan Saeed as the presidential candidate choose Dr Ahmed Shaheed as his running mate. At the time of his manifesto launch he stated he was not in debt to big business, has no relatives in politics and is not a member of a political party. He contrasted this to the position of Gayoom and other politicians. His policy platform posed a clear choice.