Yameen confirms he will contest 2028 presidential election
Reiterating his previous position, Yameen said he did not believe President Mohamed Muizzu would take steps to prevent him from contesting.
Top Stories
Former President Abdulla Yameen has said he will contest the 2028 presidential election and does not expect the current administration to prevent him from running.
Yameen made the remarks during an interview with Sanghu TV on Friday night when asked whether he intended to contest the next presidential election.
Reiterating his previous position, Yameen said he did not believe President Mohamed Muizzu would take steps to prevent him from contesting.
He compared the situation with the 2023 presidential election, when Yameen was unable to contest while serving a prison sentence during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration.
Yameen said he did not believe Muizzu would "dare to inflict such cruelty", although he claimed Solih could take similar action again if given another opportunity.
"I say this because I do not believe Muizzu would do that. Therefore, I believe that, God willing, my name will indeed be on the ballot paper in 2028," Yameen said.
Yameen also claimed that President Muizzu would not receive enough votes to win the 2028 election.
He said the results of elections held since the current administration took office showed that sections of the public were dissatisfied with the government.
Yameen added that he did not believe the administration would be able to regain public support during the remainder of its term.
The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) initially awarded Yameen its presidential ticket for the 2023 election.
However, Yameen was serving an 11-year prison sentence at the time and had an unpaid US$5 million fine. The Elections Commission rejected his candidacy on the grounds that he did not meet the constitutional requirements to contest the presidency.
Yameen challenged the Elections Commission's decision at the Supreme Court, which upheld the decision that he was ineligible to contest.
Muizzu subsequently contested the election as the candidate of the PPM-PNC coalition and won the presidency.
Relations between Yameen and the administration later deteriorated, and Yameen left the PPM before establishing the People's National Front (PNF).
Since forming the PNF, Yameen has become a critic of the Muizzu administration and has held a series of political gatherings through the party.
