Nearly two months after the then vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor was impeached after he was arrested in connection to a blast aboard the presidential speedboat carrying the president in September, president Yameen is still to nominate a replacement. PPM deputy leader Abdulla Abdul Raheem told reporters that the constitution does not mandate a period in which to appoint a vice president. So the president reserves the right to take his own time over the decision, the Fonadhoo MP said defending the delay. However, he said the president had not discussed the VP nomination either with the party nor the parliamentary group. "I'm confident that the president will think deeply about the nomination and make a good decision. But he has not shared his thoughts with the party yet. He really doesn't even have to," Abdul Raheem explained. PPM parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik said his party was considering a move to reduce the number of votes required to impeach the vice president. But since it would require a constitutional amendment, it would be no easy task, the Villi-Male MP said. "We've discussed among the MPs. But that is not final," Nihan said. PPM also announced plans to host a mass rally on January 21, which would kick-off the party's activities this year. Then vice president Adheeb was arrested on October 24 over the blast aboard the presidential speedboat carrying the president in September. He still remains in custody. The former vice president has been accused of high treason; a charge he strongly denies. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim were travelling to Male from the airport on September 28 when the explosion took place. They had returned home that morning after concluding their visit to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage. The president escaped unhurt, but the first lady and two presidential aides suffered serious injuries. Following the blast and the discovery of illegal weapons, the Maldives had taken unprecedented security measures including a month-long state of emergency, which was unexpectedly lifted a week after. However, the declaration of emergency noticeably came a day after security forces discovered an explosive device near the presidential palace. Maldives military had confirmed that the suspected device found in a vehicle parked near the presidential residence of Muliaage in capital Male was an improvised explosive device which had been subsequently been diffused.