Former President Abdulla Yameen said last night that even now, he would choose President Dr Mohamed Muizzu over the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
At a People's National Front rally at the party hub last night, Yameen strongly criticized the incumbent government. Despite this government's shortcomings, he would still choose President Muizzu if compared with former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's adminstration, Yameen said.
"What I am talking about again is comparisons. That what we have to go to again is Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Even now, anytime of the day, anytime of the year, I would choose Muizzu over MDP," Yameen said.
Yameen alleged that MDP is a party that openly undermines the fundamentals of a democracy.
In a recent interview with Sangu TV, Yameen said that he had been imprisoned and deprived from running for the presidency during Solih's administration, adding that President Muizzu would not do such a thing. He expressed confidence that his name would be on the ballot during the 2028 presidential election.
Yameen, however, stated that he does not believe Muizzu has enough support to secure a win in 2028. Testament to this is the ruling People's National Congress (PNC)'s losses in recent elections, he said, which shows the public's dissatisfaction with the administration.
Yameen's statement that he would choose Muizzu over MDP comes even as a few months back, the three former Presidents, Yameen, MDP's former Presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih signed an agreement to work together on opposition efforts.
Although the agreement followed the appointment of proxies, it has since stalled, with it now unclear if the efforts have been completely dropped.
Despite stating that he would choose Muizzu over MDP, Yameen strongly criticized the president even during last night's rally. He spoke of Muizzu's failure to act in line with Constitutional boundaries, and failure to take action against heads of institutions even when cases of corruption come to light.
He also spoke of the government's tendency to provide a large number of jobs at State institutions ahead of elections, alleging that this practice has caused a significant drop in the number of youth who work as fishermen as has been culturally the norm. These youth are now employed as technicians at SOES, Yameen said, expressing discontent at the hiring of disproportionately high numbers of persons at institutions like Fenaka Corporation.
