Founding The party was founded in 2023 by 12 members who were originally members of a faction in Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) loyal to
Mohamed Nasheed. The members of the party favour a
parliamentary system of government, which was what initially caused the rift between the group, originally within the Maldivian Democratic Party. The rift then became more apparent after the members of the group started openly criticizing the MDP government and several cabinet ministers. The group was originally a sizable minority within the party, but were unable to secure the party's Chairperson post and were later unable to secure the MDP's ticket for the
2023 election after running Mohamed Nasheed against the
president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the party primaries. After party leadership threatened to oust key members of their group from the MDP, a group of members formed The Democrats. During the initial party formation, Mohamed Nasheed was still a part of the MDP, a party he played a key role in founding. Despite this, Nasheed was actively involved in The Democrats’ political activities and campaign. He left the Maldivian Democratic Party soon after on July 17, 2023, noting that “it was not the right thing to do.” He also later established that he wishes to “tear down the party.”
Leadership resignation In 2025, Hussain Amru, Mohamed Shifaz, Ali Azim and then-president of The Democrats
Hassan Latheef, who were all founding members of the party, resigned from the party and re-joined MDP.
Dissolution On 17 June 2025, The Democrats passed a resolution in a meeting to dissolve the party, after
Mohamed Nasheed,
Eva Abdulla, and other Democrat leadership decided to rejoin the
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The MDP's chairperson
Fayyaz Ismail said the Maldivian Democratic Party is ready to "sincerely and wholeheartedly" welcome Mohamed Nasheed and members of The Democrats as they prepare to return to the party. The Maldivian Democratic Party held the welcoming ceremony for Nasheed and other Democrats in Sultan Park on 23 June 2025. Other Democrats didn't want to join the MDP because they didn't share Nasheed's vision of reunification. == Election results ==