Deputy Speaker ‘Reeko’ Moosa joins PPM

Deputy Speaker ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik signed up to the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives alongside President Abdulla Yameen at a ceremony Tuesday night.

The MP for Hulhu-Henveiru told the press that he believed he could serve the PPM and its parliamentary group under the present political circumstances.

“I believe that the PPM is the best party to join at the moment to do good political work,” he said, adding that he proposed the move to Yameen and the party’s leaders.

Based on the results of the May 6 local council elections, Moosa suggested that securing re-election for Yameen in next year’s presidential election “won’t be hard” with the right effort.

Moosa was formerly the chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party and a prominent figure during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration. He was expelled from the main opposition party in December 2014 after repeatedly breaching the party’s three-line whip in parliament.

But the former actor and businessman maintained that he was dismissed for announcing his intention to challenge Nasheed in the MDP’s 2018 presidential primary.

Following his expulsion from the MDP, Moosa continued to reliably vote with the PPM whip line and backed several controversial pieces of government-sponsored legislation.