Nasheed makes official request to meet Yameen

Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has officially requested to meet opposition leader former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom who remains in prison.

Media Spokesperson of the People’s Majlis Hassan Ziyaau said while speaking to Sun that Nasheed has sent an official request to the Home Ministry regarding the meeting. However, the ministry has yet to respond.

Regarding this, Maldives Correctional Service said they have not received the request yet.

As per the current regulations, only prisoner’s family members and their lawyers can visit them. Corrections did say that some high-ranking government officials can meet the prisoners under special permission.

Nasheed intends to meet Yameen to discuss taking a vote to change the current governing system of the Maldives.

Nasheed, who leads The Democrats who are in talks with MDP and PPM to decide which party to support in the second round of the presidential election, said it would be clear to MDP that they cannot always wait for the MDP to decide

Nasheed said that The Democrats should decide tomorrow or the next day, whether with or without conditions, as PPM says.

Nasheed repeatedly asked MDP members to change the governing system to a parliamentary system even when he was part of the political party.

Maldives adopted a presidential system in 2007 after a yes or no vote in then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration. Majority of the people voted to keep the governing system as a presdiential system.

During that vote, both Nasheed and Yameen voted in favour of the parliamentary system. However Yameen later stated that that system is not suited for the Maldives.