Friday
22nd Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Dr.Waheed speaking at an event of PPM. Photo: TMJ
The Opposition Coalition’s advisor, Dr Mohamed Waheed, has stated that he was ready to step forward as a presidential candidate.
Dr Waheed said that he would do so provided that the Opposition Coalition agrees to it, and also if the leader of the Opposition, former President Yameen Abdul Gayyoom, remains incarcerated for such a duration that he would be unable to run for the 2023 elections.
In an interview he gave to the “Ahashey Bunaanan” radio programme broadcast on State media, Dr Waheed said that the Opposition as well as he, himself, believed that Yameen would be able to run in 2023. He said that the Opposition was making its plans under that assumption.
If Yameen was, however, unable to run for office, Dr Waheed said that the Opposition would decide on what is best for the country. Dr Waheed said that if nominating him as a presidential candidate happened to be the best option available to the Opposition, it would be the best choice.
He said that if Yameen was unable to run for office, he assumed that the Opposition would hold a presidential primary. He declined to mention if he would run in the primary. He did say that he was ready to serve the country.
In his final address prior to being incarcerated, former President Yameen had warned abandoning the Party to “the vultures”. Dr Waheed said that these vultures were people who would join the Party as an election looms. He denied being such a vulture, saying that he had become a member of PPM after raising the numbers of his own Party to 10,000.