Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has advised the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) not to engage with the “shenanigans of [the] Democrats,” according to Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who serves as the former president’s general counsel.
Addressing a rally of supporters condemning Yameen’s 1,000 days in prison, Jameel said that while President Yameen believes President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to be the main antagonist leading the abuse towards him, former President Mohamed Nasheed, using the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), is equally responsible. Jameel, who briefly served as Vice President under Yameen before being ousted 22 months into the five-year presidential term, also condemned Minister of Home Affairs Sheikh Imran Abdulla for his complicity in the “abuse.”
Yameen’s sentiments come at a time when The Democrats have expressed their desire to form a coalition with PPM while also calling for his release. The former president is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence on conviction of bribery and money laundering. He has been serving the sentence for the past five years, with Nasheed only now asserting these circumstances to be unjust, well after Yameen was barred by the Elections Commission (EC) – a decision subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court – from contesting in the 2023 Presidential Elections.
During campaign events for Illyas Labeeb, the presidential candidate for The Democrats, Nasheed, in an effort to cajole PPM and People’s National Congress (PNC) aligned voters, has repeatedly stated that Yameen needs to be freed, while also proclaiming that The Democrats would be the only party able to so.
As it stands, PPM has pledged support to its coalition partner PNC’s presidential candidate and current Malé City Mayor, Mohamed Muizzu.