President Yameen faction’s secretary general Abdulla Khlaleel (L) pictured during the press conference on Tuesday. MIHAARU PHOTO/MOHAMED SHARUHAAN
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s ruling party faction is looking to parley with Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in an attempt to convince the former president to relent ruling party control to his half brother.
Maldives Civil Court on Thursday had ordered ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader Gayoom to handover party control to half brother and incumbent president Yameen.
The civil lawsuit filed by two lawmakers loyal to president Yameen accused the elder Gayoom of violating the party charter and impeding its effective functioning.
The court had ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, finding Gayoom guilty of violating the constitution, party charter and political party law.
The party control had been handed over to Yameen in the capacity of chief advisor which is a default position afforded to the party’s successful presidential candidate by the party’s charter.
The court has also ordered president Yameen to hold a party council sit-down within 24 hours.
Gayoom had moved quickly to rally council members loyal to him and held a meeting where members had backed his decision to ax three members from the party including deputy leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla.
The council had also filled the vacant secretary general’s post and signed off on Gayoom’s reform program.
An eerily calm and smiling Gayoom later told reporters that the court order completely violated the party’s charter.
He had urged the court to hold off on enforcing the order until an appellate court ruling.
Hours later president Yameen chaired a council meeting of his own with his council also appointing a new secretary general.
President Yameen faction’s secretary general Abdulla Khaleel told reporters on Tuesday that the council had afforded the authority to Yameen to run the party in accordance with the court order.
The council has decided to formally ask Gayoom to facilitate the handover Khaleel added by urging the former president to cooperate.
“We are a little bit away from an actual sit-down. But we have repeatedly said that we are willing to meet,” Khaleel said.
Gayoom’s faction meanwhile, has asked the Elections Commission to declare the council sit-down chaired by president Yameen as invalid.
Gayoom had assumed full control of the party amid a fallout from his failed attempt to get his party lawmakers to vote down a government proposed amendment to the Tourism Act which sought to bypass the bidding process in island lease for tourism.
The resistance from Gayoom quite glaringly irked his brother especially after he began to publicly criticize and oppose recently passed controversial laws.
Gayoom however, has described the laws to restrict protests, media and free speech as clear violations of the party’s value and charter.
The rift between the brothers deepened after Gayoom’s lawmaker son voted against recent government proposed laws prompting his uncle to oust him from the party.
The party’s disciplinary committee had ignored a ban on all party sit-downs imposed by Gayoom to oust his lawmaker son Faaris Maumoon who had voted against the tourism Act amendment from the party.
Gayoom quickly rejected the disciplinary committee’s ruling and announced a reform program in a desperate bid to wrestle back control of his party.
Soon after, the elder Gayoom called a council sit-down in an attempt to resolve the rift, only to witness a faction loyal to Yameen walk out of the meeting.
Any hope for the two brothers to mend ties soon evaporated after two PPM lawmakers loyal to president Yameen filed a lawsuit claiming that Gayoom had hijacked the party by suspending its internal committees and announcing a reform agenda.