No evidence to support Nasheed’s claim that he resigned under duress- Yaameen

Mulaku MP Abdullah Yaameen has said that there is no evidence to support the claims of former President Mohamed Nasheed that he resigned under duress.

In an interview to DhiTV, the parliamentary group member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Yaameen said that he watched the events of 7^th February which lead to the resignation of President Nasheed. He said that he has not seen anything that backs the claims of Nasheed that he was forced to resign in a coup de tat.

Yaameen said that the military attacked the Police resistance and the public gathered at the Republican Square with rubber bullets and tear gas. He said that if the military did not obey the orders of the executive at the military Head Quarters then there is doubts regarding the exact order that which they disobeyed.

Yaameen said that after 24 hours from the resignation Nasheed suddenly started street riots and called the government to hold snap elections within 60 days. He said that however, the public and even the foreign delegates who visited Maldives to resolve the political tension in the country does not believe that such elections can be held within that time limit. He noted that there is no legal basis for snap elections in the constitution and that such an election can only he held after amending the constitution.

The Mulaku MP also said that if the then Vice President also resigned following Nasheed’s resignation and the government was to run by the Speaker of the Peoples’ Majlis there would have been many complications.

“If for whatever reason, the Speaker was unable to hold elections within sixty days what would have happened? If there is no legitimate ruler, then the country will be in a constitutional vacuum which will in turn lead this nation into total chaos,” he said.

Yaameen said that the independent institutions have lost their competence in the past three years during the rule of Nasheed. He said that if an election is to be held then these institutions should be reformed prior to the elections.

Furthermore, Yaameen said that the scope of the Road Map All Party Talks is to bring about these reforms. He said that without participating in these peaceful dialogues then there is no plausible reason to call the government to hold an election.