Former Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has signed onto the opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

During a special ceremony held on Thursday night, Dr. Jameel signed on to the party and it was announced that he will be serving as an advisor of the opposition coalition comprising of PPM and People’s National Congress (PNC).

Speaking during the ceremony, Dr. Jameel, who also serves as a representative of the incarcerated ex-president Abdulla Yameen’s legal team, revealed that he will “only rest after ex-president Yameen is freed and wins the Presidential Elections of 2023”.

Continually praising the jailed ex-president, Dr. Jameel criticized the current regime, highlighting that it is unacceptable that a former leader remains in jail. He added that he believes Yameen is the solution to the current crisis facing the country, which will only be resolved once Yameen comes into power in 2023.

This must be done because the country’s democracy is being severed by a group of people, said Dr. Jameel, who also asserted that the country’s constitution is “threatened”, for every day the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is to remain in power.

Prior to switching allegiance to PPM, Dr. Jameel was a member of the government coalition member, Jumhooree Party and serves as a political advisor to its leader, Gasim Ibrahim.

Dr. Jameel asserted that he would do all in his power to free the ex-president and opposition leader, who was convicted of money-laundering charges during late 2019 and is currently doing time for a five-year prison sentence.