No pres candidate wants Yameen freed, says MP Saleem

Parliament’s minority leader, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem said on Wednesday that any politician hoping for presidency will not want former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to be out of prison.

Saleem made the remarks while addressing a rally at PPM office, amid talks with other opposition parties.

The PPM is in talks with the JP, MNP and The Democrats, who have announced their intention to contest the presidential election. Without naming any of the parties or candidates, Saleem said they would not want to release Yameen either.

“Then you [PPM members] should not think that the people who are running for power in the opposition will have much sympathy for President Yameen to escape from jail,” he said.

"How can those who want the presidency want the president [Yameen] to come out? They will not want it. They will not even wish it”.

Saleem, who rarely speaks at PPM rallies, assured his supporters that Yameen would be released from jail. He asked the supporters to not doubt it.

Saleem said that wishes for Yameen's release from jail will come from those who do not want power. He said the entire state wants to keep Yameen in jail and asked his supporters to think deeply about these issues.

Repeating the 'vulture' annotation used by Yameen in his last speech before going to jail in 2019, Saleem said "these vultures may come from within and from outside”. He also accused the government of trying to “create conflicts” within the PPM.

"The President [Yameen] is very courageous. Even today he has the courage we don't have. Sometimes we get a little worried or have other feelings," Saleem said.

In Saleem’s speech:

Yameen's 11-year jail sentence in an MMPRC theft case has posed serious challenges to his candidacy. His appeal is pending at the High Court.

Some PPM-PNC leaders are rumoured to be already trying to win the presidential ticket in the event that Yameen cannot contest the September 9 election.