Discussions are taking place within the Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) about fielding a separate presidential candidate from the PNC amid doubts over the candidacy of former President Abdulla Yameen, Adhadhu has learned.
Sources from the PPM-PNC leadership told Adhadhu on the condition of anonymity that Yameen has told the leadership to field a PNC candidate.
“[Rumors of PNC fielding a candidate] are true. It is going ahead as President Yameen has instructed,” an MP said.
The PPM-PNC intends to submit a PNC candidate and running mate’s form along with Yameen’s candidacy form, the MP said. If Yameen’s candidacy is rejected, the opposition coalition will contest the election with the PNC candidate and running mate.
While some MPs spoke anonymously, Hulhumale’ councillor Ibrahim Shujau told Adhadhu that the leadership was discussing fielding a separate PNC candidate.
The decision is up to the presidential candidate, Shujau noted.
“As we’ve been saying from the beginning, our PPM-PNC candidate is President Abdulla Yameen. President Yameen will decide on the PNC candidate. We don’t have specific names for the candidate either,” Shujau said.
On the question of the opposition candidate, the PPM-PNC leadership previously insisted that there was hope that Yameen would be able to contest. But the answer since Sunday has been that presidential candidate Yameen would make a decision.
On Sunday night, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, a co-founder of The Democrats, invited the PPM to nominate a running mate for Democrats presidential candidate Ilyas Labeeb. The PPM’s answer about the offer was also that the decision was up to presidential candidate Yameen.
"We don't make [the candidate's decisions] on our own. As he is the party's president and the presidential candidate, even if he's serving a jail sentence at the moment, he will decide [whether or not to accept the invitation]," said Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam, the PPM's vice president.
The appeal of Yameen's 11-year prison sentence has stalled at the High Court. Despite constitutional cases lodged twice at the Supreme Court, seeking an order to expedite the appeal, the court did not accept the cases.
The Elections Commission (EC) has said that Yameen's candidacy cannot be accepted unless the conviction is overturned.
Yameen’s candidacy form was submitted to the EC on Tuesday morning. EC Vice President Ismail Habeeb told PPM-PNC leaders that the commission would decide on the candidacy within 24 hours.
