Ex-President Yameen's family pleads him to step away from politics

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom may step away from the political sphere due to familial pressure.

A screenshot depicting supporters of the former President conversing on a Viber group shows that the former President had told his followers to “make the decision” and he will step away from politics as his family is already “pleading” him to step away from politics.

The leaked message comes at a time Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Parliamentary Group leader Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik announced his resignation on Sunday night.

The chatlog begins with Yameen telling the members of the group that changes may be brought to senior positions and that those taking over the positions must be brave enough to take responsibility.

He also called on his loyalists to continue their work to raise funds for the party and to increase memberships by travelling.

Yameen earlier said that his party’s campaign activities were incomplete due to the actions by the current government. As such, he claimed the government had gotten in the way of them travelling for campaign events, going on to claim that he had been unable to touch the campaign funds as he had remained in jail.