PPM criticises President Waheed following Jameel

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has criticised President Dr Mohamed Waheed following the dismissal of Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed from the post of Minister of Home Affairs, and accused President Waheed of prioritising his own personal interests.

The criticism came in a statement issued by PPM following an extraordinary meeting held today by the party’s council regarding the dismissal of Dr Jameel from the post of Home Minister consequent to him being appointed as the running mate of PPM Presidential Candidate Abdullah Yameen.

PPM condemned Dr Jameel’s dismissal, which the party accused was done in a strict manner, and said that instead of congratulating Dr Jameel on his appointment as running mate, President Waheed prioritised his personal election-related interests.

Speaking at a press conference to announce PPM council’s decision, PPM Spokesperson Ahmed Mahloof said that if Dr Jameel acting as Yameen’s running mate while holding the post of cabinet minister would result in conflict of interest, it would be ‘much better’ if President Waheed resigned.

“The reason given for dismissing Dr Jameel was conflict of interest if he acts both as a member of the cabinet and Yameen’s running mate. While Dr Jameel was asked to resign based on this reasoning, I think there is more serious conflict of interest if a president is to stand in as a candidate in the presidential election. In this regard, it would be much better if the president resigned. So I don’t think it makes any sense,” he said.

Mahloof said that President Waheed’s current visits to the islands are part of his campaign. He said that PPM would no longer support those visits, and would work towards putting an end to the president’s campaign trips.

Mahloof said that despite the fact that President Waheed prioritised his personal interests, PPM would try to sustain President Waheed’s government until the election.