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'Stop trying to take over PPM', Ambassador Shareef calls on ex-pres Gayoom

Ahmed Aiham
03 October 2018, MVT 13:02
Maldivian Ambassador to Russia, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, speaks at a PPM rally. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI/MIHAARU
Ahmed Aiham
03 October 2018, MVT 13:02

Maldivian Ambassador to Russia, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, has declared former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s attempts to "take over the identity" of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) as undemocratic.

During a press conference held on Tuesday, Shareef, who had previously worked closely with Gayoom in the past, stated that if the former president were to "seize" the identity of PPM, then there would be no opposition party, adding that the lack of an opposition party is against the fundamentals of a democratic rule.

Additionally, Shareef stated that Gayoom viewed PPM as his own private property and that his actions to snatch PPM from the party's hands are undemocratic.

Shareef's criticism comes after Gayoom, the former leader of PPM, sent a letter addressed to Elections Commission's president Ahmed Shareef regarding the recent PPM Congress. In the letter, Gayoom claimed that the congress was held in violation of the party charter, and that the decisions made during the congress were, in turn, invalid.

Gayoom’s daughter and designated personal representative, Yumna Maumoon, had also submitted a case to the court days before the congress, seeking to halt it. However, the court had not made a decision.

Shareef, who had worked with Gayoom even after his defeat in the 2008 Presidential Elections, stated, "I respectfully urge President Maumoon and his followers to respectfully put an end to these efforts.”

Gayoom was released on bail whilst serving a 19-month sentence at Maafushi Prison, on Sunday.

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