Gayoom calls to withdraw from Commonwealth

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said that the Maldives should withdraw from the Commonwealth, following the group’s interference with the Maldives’ internal affairs and their work towards electing a particular person as president.

Speaking at the final campaign rally by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) prior to the presidential election, Gayoom urged the person who is elected as president to take action to withdraw Maldives from the Commonwealth.

Gayoom said that the Commonwealth interferes with and influences the internal affairs of the Maldives and incites unrest in the Maldives, thus, he discussed this issue with President Dr Mohamed Waheed today.

“I told the president today, that since he has decided to resign, he can’t do anything about this issue at the moment. But I want the next elected president to consider this and take action to withdraw Maldives from the Commonwealth,” he said.

Gayoom said that Maldives became a member of the Commonwealth during his presidency, but today, the situation has changed completely and the Maldives does not gain much from this membership.

“The Commonwealth is interfering with our internal affairs, instructing us to do things their way, and making efforts to elect a certain person as president. This is not something we can tolerate, or accept,” he said.

He said that a country should only remain as a member of an organisation, such as the Commonwealth, if the organisation respects the country as an independent state.

Gayoom said that some foreign groups made numerous visits to President Waheed on 10 November 2013, the last day of his presidential term.

“On 10 November, on the last day of President Waheed’s term, foreign groups visited him 10, 12 times. They went to the President’s Office to meet with him. For what? They didn’t ask for an appointment. The President didn’t approve the meetings. They just showed up,” said Gayoom.

Gayoom accused the foreign groups of undermining the authority of the President and pressuring him to resign.