Former President Mohamed Nasheed has warned that the country may abruptly return to dictatorship.

Speaking at a campaign event for the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in Addu, Nasheed said it was wrong to think that the country has achieved freedom forever.

"We must not stop working for change. The Maldives can return to dictatorship abruptly. Even tomorrow. We must not think that we have introduced a democratic spirit of eternal freedom into this country," Nasheed warned.

Nasheed said he sometimes feels like he should stay away from the reform process, but the right choice is to work nonstop.

“Now, in my old age, I am almost sixty. Sometimes I think I have dealt with this enough,” he said.

Nasheed reiterated that he will not run in the next presidential election and wants to empower a younger generation.

"I want a new generation to come out. I don't want former presidents to contest. I want a new generation to come out again and new people to come out," he said.

Nasheed lives in Ghana, Africa, where he serves as the Secretary General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

He is currently in the Maldives to campaign for the April 4 local council elections and the referendum to merge the presidential and parliamentary elections.