Three members including Abdul Raheem appointed by PPM President to Council

President of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has, with the consent of the party council, appointed PPM Parliamentary Group Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdullah and two others to the party council.

The three members appointed to the council by Gayoom are Abdul Raheem Abdullahwho was elected the council from the category of politics, Zahid Rameez from youth and Aminath Athifa from tertiary education.

Abdul Raheem received 22 votes from council members, while Zahid and Athifa received 18 and 21 votes respectively.

An official of PPM said that 28 members attended the council meeting held at Mookai Hotel last night to elect members to the council, of which 26 members participated in the vote.

Each member nominated one person for each of the three categories at last night’s meeting. The members also followed the party council’s decision that the three nominations should include at least one woman.

PPM’s basic regulation states that the party should have 36 council members. The official said that the slot for a scholar will remain vacant for one term in memory of the late Dr Afrasheem Ali, and that the slot for a Women’s Vice President will also remain vacant until a member is elected to this post at a party national meeting.

Out of the 34 council seats, members have been elected to fourteen at the party congress so far.

According to the amended basic regulation of the party, members included in the council apart from the three members appointed by Gayoom are the party president, vice president, advisor (or the person who will act as president after contesting and winning the presidential election with the PPM ticket), ten parliamentary group members, president of the youth movement, president of the women’s youth movement, president of the scholar’s council, and a councillor.