Ismail Zariyand, who ran for Mayor of Male', has signed on to former President Abdulla Yameen's political party, the People's National Front (PNF).

The ceremony took place at PNF's office on Monday night, where the auditing and accounting professional handed the signed form over to PNF's President Yameen.

Zariyand announced that he was running for the Local Council Election, held on 4th April, for the position of Mayor of Male' under PNF's ticket. However, with Yameen's support, he decided to run independently. 

6,302 votes were cast in favor of Zariyand. The candidate who was closest to him in terms of votes was the People's National Congress's (PNC) Moosa Ali Jaleel, who received 9,380 votes.

The Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) Adam Azim was re-elected as Mayor of Male' for the next five years with 13,906 votes.

Former famed goalkeeper Zariyand stated that at the time, Yameen was the one who encouraged him to run for the position of mayor and that in his eyes, Yameen is a leader who has a vision for development.

Prior to this, Zariyand has only been involved in a political environment with former President Mohamed Nasheed.