The preliminary hearings in the case submitted by Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) requesting to dismiss a Civil Court case asking for the party’s leadership to be returned to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, have concluded on Thursday.
While the former president's legal team has requested to intervene in the case, his daughter Yumna Maumoon had attended Thursday's hearing.
Gayoom’s lawyer Mohamed Faisal told RaajjeMV that the Supreme Court had retrieved the files after the two members from PPM had lodged it at Civil Court, adding that the case was even registered.
Lawyer representing PPM, Ibrahim Riza had stated that the two cases cannot be looked into because court had previously ruled to give the party’s leadership to former President and Gayoom’s half-brother Yameen Abdul Gayoom when it was previously lodged and the High Court and Supreme Court had even backed the ruling then.
In Gayoom’s defense, lawyer Faisal stated that the cases lodged by the two members, Ali Ahmed and Ahmed Rasheed, were never investigated by any of the Maldives courts. As such, he stated that back then, the case revolved around Gayoom’s recklessness in managing the party’s affairs. In this regard, lawyer Faisal said that the two cases have nothing in similar.
In addition, Faisal stated that the party had in it’s national congress, decided to give the party leadership to Gayoom on the 17th of January 2013 and that they have requested to hand over the party leadership to Gayoom as the Elections Commission had not initially chosen to not accept the congress held by the party, electing Yameen as PPM’s leader.
The chief justice had at the hearing revealed that a decision will be heard on whether or not to continue the case to which Faisal responded that a quick decision must be reached as the parliamentary election is coming up, in which PPM members are to contest.
This comes at a time Yameen has begun work to form a new political party called the People’s National Congress which has since been joined by Yameen’s close allies.
