Nasheed meeting with foreign ambassadors. PHOTO: Twitter
Former President Mohamed Nasheed returned to the United Kingdom on Monday after spending two weeks in Sri Lanka to meet with officials of the Maldives’ opposition, foreign ambassadors and diplomats.
Nasheed arrived in Sri Lanka on January 29 to discuss the political situation of the Maldives and future of main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). He held meetings with top officials of MDP and participated in a National Council meeting of the party to seek members’ opinions on decisions regarding the party and political climate. He had also shared his concerns regarding the Maldives’ political and economic situations with some foreign ambassadors.
Furthermore, he had called upon the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena during this visit though he did not reveal details of the meeting.
It was during this visit that he announced his candidacy for the Presidential Elections 2018. Noting that he will be detained to complete his jail sentence upon his return, he nonetheless vowed to come to the Maldives when “it is time”.
However, he remains ambiguous on a date.
Former President Nasheed, who is sentenced to thirteen years in jail for the arbitrary detention of a judge during his administration, has been living in the United Kingdom under political asylum for over a year. This was his second visit to Sri Lanka during this period.