Former President Abdulla Yameen has decided to leave the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and form a new political party.
The decision was taken by Yameen on Thursday night, his lawyer Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed announced.
In an interview with Channel 13, Jameel also revealed that Yameen has decided to form a new political party.
Yameen has also confirmed to Adhadhu his decision to form a new political party.
Jameel said the difficult decision was made because the PPM leadership was not taking his consultation.
"He did everything to change the government of President Solih as the people asked. However, today the party leadership's mindset is different. They have moved away from him. So he has resigned from the PPM," Jameel revealed.
He also claimed that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was not responding to Yameen's phone calls after coming to power.
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) split and a new party under the name of PPM was registered on October 17, 2011.
The 2013 presidential election was won by Maumoon's half-brother Yameen on the party's presidential ticket.
In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the PPM won 33 seats and confirmed majority with the seats of Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).
During his five-year rule, the PPM was the second-largest political party in Maldives. But Maumoon petitioned the court over the party's registry amid a leadership dispute.
Following that, Yameen created the People's National Congress (PNC) as a new party to use as a platform in case he lost control of the PPM. The party is led by one of Yameen’s closest associates, former Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla (Adhurey).
In February 2019, the PPM formed a coalition with the PNC but suffered a major defeat in the parliamentary elections.
In November 2019, Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison and fined USD 5 million for money laundering.
He won the appeal and resumed his political activities. He also tried to strengthen the party and put pressure on the government.
The opposition activities gained momentum again with the Yameen-led "India Out" campaign. He was also offered the 2023 presidential ticket of the PPM-PNC coalition.
However, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2022 for money laundering and bribery. He tried to secure his ticket through legal means but the court ruled him ineligible to contest in the election.
The joint Senate of the two parties decided to nominate a PNC candidate on the opposition ticket. Muizzu, who was a member of PPM then switched to the PNC on the day of the primary and won the opposition ticket by just two votes.
Muizzu’s entire presidential campaign was based on Yameen’s policies. Yameen's "India Out" campaign became the most powerful weapon used by Muizzu to come to power.
After Muizzu's election victory, Yameen was moved home from prison. There was a lot of rivalry between PPM and PNC in the transition phase with concerns over PPM members leaving the party to join PNC.
Yameen supporters also claimed that his opinion was not respected in the formation of the new cabinet. The PNC office was separated from the PPM office and moved to a new location.
With that, Yameen appointed a 13-member committee to run the party outside the PPM leadership. It was a committee appointed by Yameen because he felt that the party's work had stalled.
However, Mohamed Maleeh, who headed the committee was expelled from the party following a press conference held by the committee. The letter was signed by the two vice presidents of the PPM, Minister Ahmed Shiyam and Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon.
Yameen resigned from the PPM shortly after Maleeh was expelled.
