Former Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom returned to Male’ yesterday ahead of campaigning for next month’s local council elections saying he would not be attributing blame for the current disputes over the leadership position of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) that he once held.
Haveeru reported that Gayoom was greeted to Male’ by supporters saying that he was looking for a “smooth solution” to a war of words between current DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and former Deputy Umar Naseer, who was dismissed from the party by its disciplinary committee late last year.
The animosity between the two political figures appeared to come to a head last month amidst reports of violence at a meeting held at DRP headquarters between rival supporters loyal to either Thasmeen and Naseer over gaining entry to the event.
The former president told the paper that he saw the current developments within the party as disputes rather than the formation of factions within the country’s main political opposition group, but claimed that he didn’t believe one individual was to “blame”.
“What is best is to opt for dialogue in order to find a peaceful and a smooth solution to the disputes. I am trying to unite the party,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.
Gayoom added that consideration on running as a candidate for the 2013 presidential election was not on his mind at present as the contest was “still too far away.”
