Yameen to contest 2028 election with promise restoring ‘lost’ maritime territory

Former Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Thursday announced his intention to contest the 2028 presidential election, adding that recovering the maritime territory that the Maldives allegedly lost will be the chief among his electoral pledges.

Yameen has repeatedly expressed concern over the alleged lost maritime territory and the Indian troops who were stationed in the Maldives.

In an exclusive interview with ‘RaajjeTV’ on Thursday morning, Yameen was asked about his plans for the 2028 presidential election.

His initial response was “won’t I be jailed by then?”

He said he therefore does not know what to say about the election.

“Where is [former Maldivian vice president] Adeeb, who purportedly had cases against him that would put him in jail for 800 years? But I was in jail for longer than Adeeb was,” said Yameen, as he initially dodged the question, and shared his expectations for a repeat of the 2023 election, which he was barred from contesting due to a money laundering conviction.

When pressed again, Yameen said he will contest the election if he remains free by then.

“Without a doubt [I will contest the 2028 election],” he said.

Yameen said he has three main goals, the chief of which is to do everything possible to recover the maritime area disputed with Mauritius, as well as Peros Banhos, an atoll in the Chagos archipelago known to Maldivians as ‘Foalhavahi’, if possible.

His second goal is to expel Indian troops from the Maldives. In his regard, Yameen alleges that though the incumbent People’s National Congress (PNC) administration has asserted that the Indian troops have been replaced by civilians, Indian military personnel continue to operate in the Maldives.

“I want a chance in office to resolve these two things alone,” he said.

“All current leaders are compromised.”

Yameen said that political leaders often make grand promises during their campaign, but fail to deliver the promises when they get elected to office.

Yameen said the people are disillusioned about the incumbent administration.

“Take a sample of Maldivian citizens. I believe that all 10 out of 10 people will say they are unhappy about the actions of the incumbent administration,” he said.

“The people want an environment where they can live in peace. This does not exist in the Maldives. It is so difficult; the people aren’t able to make their ends meet.”

Yameen said his third goal is to improve the economy.

I want to contest the 2028 election to achieve these three goals, he said.

Yameen got elected to office in 2013 on a coalition government. But he lost his re-election bid in 2018, after other political parties sided against him in a coalition with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

He had filed candidacy to run in the 2023 election on behalf of the then-opposition PPM-PNC (Progressive Party of Maldives-People’s National Congress) coalition, but was disqualified due to his money laundering and bribery conviction in the sale of V. Aarah. Though he initially asked the PPM-PNC to boycott the election, he later endorsed President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who won the vote taken by the coalition’s joint senate to produce a backup candidate, and went on to win the election.

But less than a week after President Muizzu took office in November 2023, Yameen left the ruling PPM-PNC and initiated efforts to form a new party, the People’s National Front (PNF).

Yameen’s Aarah conviction was overturned by the High Court on April 18. The court cited major legal irregularities during the original trial, and ordered the Criminal Court for a retrial.

He is also on trial on two other similar cases.