Former President Abdulla Yameen has said that it is his party, People's National Front (PNF), that is best placed currently to hold the government accountable.
Former President Abdulla Yameen has said that it is his party, People's National Front (PNF), that is best placed currently to hold the government accountable. He went on to reiterate that he would not support the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
During the campaigning for April's parliamentary elections, Yameen heavily criticized ruling People's National Congress (PNC). Once results of the election were announced, with PNC winning supermajority and PNF failing to win a single seat, the party went quiet.
Last night, in the first PNF rally since the election, Yameen asserted that they would not support MDP, and accused them of being behind his detention of five years.
He alleged that it was MDP that had taken away his opportunity to run for presidency during last year's election, and stated that he saw no reason to support them.
"Is there even an MDP? There isn't. That is an expired force. Those people are not there today. We are not going to be bothered about MDP," Yameen responded to a reporter's query.
Yameen criticized MDP, alleging that the party was responsible for 'ruining the discipline' of the entire country. He added that it should be remembered that MDP had come to power with a promise of guaranteeing rights for people, but instead had harmed the people through bringing out Police and MNDF.
Yameen went on to express regret that despite several candidates having run for parliament with his backing, none had succeeded. He, however, maintains that the reason for this is that PNC, like MDP before them, had exerted undue influence on the elections.
Yameen said that he would offer his support to MDP's actions within parliament to hold the government accountable if he saw it as being reasonable. He said that MDP would not be capable of doing much within the parliament to hold the government accountable, and said that PNF would do much more even in their offices than MDP could.
Comments were also made on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's statements on the economic situation of the country.
The former President claims that this government has taken MVR 14.7 billion from MMA reserves so far, and said this is equivalent to printing money.
During the opening ceremony of the PNC House, President Muizzu had said that many development projects and other initiatives had been undertaken on revenues without resorting to printing money. Additionally, he stated that MVR 2.7 billion of foreign debts had been repaid without defaulting on any loans. The President said that approximately MVR 13 billion had been paid within the last seven months. This includes MVR 4 billion to private entities and MVR 7 billion to SOE debts.
Yameen, however, questioned these statistics. He said that statistics indicated MVR 12 billion had been earned as revenue by the State. While the government has spent MVR 13.7 billion, he questioned where the additional MVR 1.7 billion had come from.
"How have they done this? Now we are coming to the truth behind their claim that they are not printing money. MMA statistics show as 'Advance to the Government' short terms loans given on the government's request. This is something that needs to be paid back within one month. The person who set the worst precedent in this is Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who led the previous government," Yameen said.
Yameen alleges that while at the end of the last government, MVR 1.7 billion had been issued as Advance to the Government, the incumbent government has issued MVR 14.7 billion to date.
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