The country was plummeted to this state by MDP, not President Muizzu: Yameen

Former president, Abdulla Yameen stated last night that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu is not obliged to bear responsibility for the predicament of the country that the five-year administration of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has left it in.

While seated at the audience of a meeting series by the People’s National Front (PNF), the political party Yameen has been attempting to establish following his resignation from PPM, he asserted that the people of the country are fully aware of what truthfully transpired during these preceding five years.

Heavily criticizing the current opposition party, MDP, Yameen stated that regardless of MDP’s allegations that President Muizzu is oblivious on how to clear the state debt and govern the country, the responsibility for it must be borne by MDP themselves.

“Today, they are saying that [he] does not know how to rule, [he] does not know how to manage funds. That [he] doesn’t know how to clear the debt. But [they] also do not want to accept who had created the debt. They are also asserting that the state facilities are not independent. It is clear who did not liberate state institutions and held them in the palm of their hands,” Yameen stated.

He remarked that the people are aware who is responsible for obstructing the country’s sovereign power by allowing Indian military presence in the country and asserted that MDP must answer for this as well.

Condemning the actions of the former government in relation to the Chagos issue, Yameen highlighted that it was MDP that made excuses and attempted to veil their wrongdoing under the guise of national security once the people demanded accountability.

Yameen described that the country’s plummet to its present state is a result of all of these actions.

“The circumstances surrounding Maldives today is not through the actions of President Muizzu; the truth is clear. This country was descended to this state during the preceding five-year administration, in MDP’s rule,” said Yameen.

Yameen asserted that in order to hold a government accountable, people who have displayed such bad examples must not be elected for parliamentary positions and had further highlighted that electing government aligned members will also be ineffective in demanding accountability from the state.

Regarding the parliamentary elections slated to be held on the 17th of next month, Yameen stated that the elected parliamentarians must be members who do not hinder the people by needlessly opposing the government, yet are still bold enough to hold the government to account when necessary.

Yameen, who is sentenced to eleven years in prison after being found guilty of money laundering and bribery was transferred to house-arrest following President Muizzu’s election as president. However, the relationship between the two has now soured due to the President's failure to revoke Yameen’s prison sentence till date. Addressing this, President Muizzu has stated that ensuring justice for Yameen must proceed within the judicial system under due process and asserted that the government will not exert any influence on the judiciary.