Former President Abdulla Yameen has announced that he will contest in the next presidential election.
Yameen, who was in power from November 2013 to November 2018, said he still needs an opportunity to serve the country to resolve issues facing the Maldives.
"There is no doubt. [Interview host] Amir [Saleem], are you not happy that I will contest? I am not running because I just want power. I am running to achieve three main things," he said.
Although Yameen said there are three things he wants to achieve, he only mentioned two during the interview with Raajje TV. The biggest of these is to recover the lost territorial waters, he said.
"The biggest thing is to recover the territorial waters we lost near Chagos and if possible, do everything necessary to control Chagos. This government has been in power for a year. There is not a single letter sent to ITLOS in protest against the decision, to claim that it was a personal decision made by the President," he said.
Yameen said the second reason he wants power is to ensure the complete removal of Indian military from the Maldives, adding that no politician other than him would work for those two goals.
"The next step is to withdraw the Indian Army from here. To solve both these issues, I need an opportunity to serve. I don't believe that anyone who comes next will do these things. Everyone is compromised," he said.
The former President who began the India Out campaign also insisted that Indian soldiers were still stationed in the Maldives and accused the government of lying.
"If they are not in uniform, does that mean there is no Indian military [here]? They can be in something other than uniform, right? The government is lying about big things like this. I am telling with absolute confidence, they are lying. The Indian military is here," the former president said.
Yameen did not contest last year's presidential election after the Supreme Court ruled that he was ineligible due to his jail sentence. He pressed his supporters to boycott the election.
But the party made a decision and he resolved to proceed accordingly, Yameen said. At the time, Yameen backed incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu but said he now regrets supporting the former mayor of Male'.
