The battle for ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has raged on for months as two brothers, arguably the two most influential people in the archipelago exchanged jabs to weaken the opponent into submission but not enough for a knockout.
But on Monday, the battle broke out into a full scale war as the gloves came off and what originally appeared to be a mere crack in the party widened to an unbridgeable crevasse.
The public fall out between PPM leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his half brother Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has been long, perverse and downright messy.
Former president Gayoom had assumed full control of the party amid a fallout from his failed attempt to get his party lawmakers to vote down a government proposed amendment to the Tourism Act which sought to bypass the bidding process in island lease for tourism.
But according to sources, the strain in brotherly relations goes way back and has been traced to almost immediately after president Yameen was sworn in to office in late 2013.
The elder Gayoom had reportedly attempted to dictate the ministerial cabinet and other top government appointments which did not sit well with his brother.
“President told us that Gayoom had wanted him to get his permission to even meet the PPM parliamentary group,” a lawmaker loyal to the younger Gayoom had told Mihaaru.
In his defence, Gayoom had said president Yameen had ignored his counsel, refused to consult with the party and wielded autocratic control over PPM lawmakers.
The resistance from Gayoom quite glaringly irked his brother especially after he began to publicly criticize and oppose recently passed controversial laws.
Gayoom however, has described the laws to restrict protests, media and free speech as clear violations of the party's value and charter.
The rift between the brothers deepened after Gayoom's lawmaker son voted against recent government proposed laws prompting his uncle to oust him from the party.
The party’s disciplinary committee had ignored a ban on all party sit-downs imposed by Gayoom to oust his lawmaker son Faaris Maumoon who had voted against the tourism Act amendment from the party.
Gayoom quickly rejected the disciplinary committee's ruling and announced a reform program in a desperate bid to wrestle back control of his party.
Soon after, the elder Gayoom called a council sit-down in an attempt to resolve the rift, only to witness a faction loyal to Yameen walk out of the meeting.
Any hope for the two brothers to mend ties soon evaporated after two PPM lawmakers loyal to president Yameen filed a lawsuit claiming that Gayoom had hijacked the party by suspending its internal committees and announcing a reform agenda.
The opposition understandably exploited the row between the Gayoom brothers, with jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed dropping thinly veiled hints, that his once arch nemesis had joined the opposition push to topple president Yameen from office.
The fact that the elder Gayoom had not directly denied the claims fueled speculation of an imminent plot to overthrow Yameen which has refused to die down since.
- Court intervenes in 'brotherly spat' -
Since the unprecedented walkout, both Gayooms had intensified efforts to rally loyalists to their side. President Yameen had appeared to hold the upper hand as he commanded the majority of the PPM council and the party lawmakers.
PPM deputy leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla, once loyal to Gayoom publicly scoffed at rumours that president Yameen would not be able to win re-election in 2018 without his brother's support after the elder Gayoom had earlier snubbed a request to gift the presidential ticket to Yameen without a primary.
The Fonadhoo lawmaker Raheem flanked by members of the PPM council and parliamentary group loyal to Yameen taunted Gayoom over the 2018 presidential elections insisting that the latter’s support was not needed.
“I can confidently say that president Yameen will definitely win the 2018 presidential elections. Anyone who doesn’t want to support him can stay at home. The PPM council and the parliamentary group will help president Yameen secure a second term in office,” Raheem had said Thursday.
Gayoom responded strongly and decisively to remove Raheem and two other council members from the party.
Days after the decision, Civil Court on Thursday ordered Gayoom to handover party control to his half brother.
The civil lawsuit filed by two lawmakers loyal to president Yameen accused the elder Gayoom of violating the party charter and impeding its effective functioning.
The court had ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, finding Gayoom guilty of violating the constitution, party charter and political party law.
The party control had been handed over to Yameen in the capacity of chief advisor which is a default position afforded to the party’s successful presidential candidate by the party's charter.
The court has also ordered president Yameen to hold a party council sit-down within 24 hours.
But the joy in Yameen's camp was short-lived, as Gayoom moved quickly to rally council members loyal to him and held a meeting where members had backed his decision to ax three members from the party including deputy leader Raheem.
The council had also filled the vacant secretary general's post and signed off on Gayoom's reform program.
A surprisingly calm and smiling Gayoom later told reporters that the court order completely violated the party's charter.
He had urged the court to hold off on enforcing the order until an appellate court ruling.
President Yameen, meanwhile, chaired a council meeting of his own with his council also appointing a new secretary general.
- Confusion over the 'real PPM' -
Raheem after the council sit-down claimed that president Yameen's faction was the "real PPM".
The two factions have caused confusion among even the party members as both factions have begun accepting applications from interested candidates for the upcoming local council elections.
The country's electoral watchdog also appeared to be at a loss to ease the confusion insisting that it was waiting for the necessary documents from both factions.
"Once we receive the documents from both factions, we will assess and decide which one has the legal authority," Elections Commission member Ahmed Akram told Mihaaru.
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