Two fmr. Presidents go head to head; Maumoon responds to Nasheed

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has responded to Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, after the later accused Maumoon of rigging almost every election during his tenure as the President. 

Maumoon and Nasheed's MRM and MDP are part of the coalition forming the current government. The two former Presidents, once stark rivals had joined forces to form the administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. 

Maumoon had voiced his opposition to Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir’s proposal for an amendment to the Constitution to change the system of governance to a Parliamentary one, instead of a Presidential one.

Maumoon, in relation to the amendment, tweeted last night that the Presidential system was the best for the Maldives. He also noted that the citizens had overwhelmingly chosen the Presidential system during a referendum held in 2007. 

Nasheed then replied to Maumoon by noting that Maumoon was the President back then and that he and MDP had advocated for a parliamentary system even back then, while Maumoon had opposed them by supporting a Presidential system. Nasheed also accused the former President and his current ally of rigging every election during his time.

Nasheed said that Maumoon only failed to rig the 2008 election where Nasheed won the vote over Maumoon. 

"You couldn't rig the 2008 election only, and you lost it," said Nasheed in a tweet.

Maumoon responded to Nasheed today. In a tweet, the former President said that he was saddened that Nasheed thought of the citizens as fools. 

He also questioned why he couldn’t rig the 2008 election if he had rigged every election during his 30 years as President. 

“Give me a response that makes sense.” Said Maumoon to Nasheed.

Speaker Nasheed has been advocating for a parliamentary system very much as of recently. He recently stated that the current Green Constitution could be applied most appropriately to a parliamentary system rather than a Presidential system. However, the Constitution states that the governing powers are bestowed upon the President who is the head of state as well as the nation.