New year resolution to free jailed leader, win council elections: opposition

The opposition Progressive Coalition ushered in new year greetings with renewed commitments to their goals for 2021, which include succeeding in the upcoming local council elections and freeing their leader, former President Abdulla Yameen from prison.

The former president is serving a five-year jail sentence after having been found guilty of laundering USD one million through the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) via a private company SoF, during his presidency. He was convicted in November 2019.

In a press release to commemorate the start of a new year, the opposition coalition comprising of former ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC) said that they had made many efforts to free Yameen from jail within the last year, and that their political activities had gotten much stronger as a result.

Claiming that there has been an uptick in membership for opposition parties, the press release also acknowledged great public support in expanding their political influence through events held all over the country.

Additionally, the Progressive Coalition also shed light on the newly-established branches of its steering committees across the nation, which they say has helped conduct their political activities through a stronger, more organized structure.

The press release concluded with the opposition reaffirming their commitment to freeing their leader from prison, along with successfully winning the upcoming local council elections, as their goals for 2021, which they say will require elevating their political activities to the next level in order to achieve.

The press release also alluded to the extraordinary difficulties faced by Maldives, and the world, as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic, detailing that tremors to global travel and business due to the pandemic had also left damaging impressions on the Maldivian economy.