Gayoom moves to take control of PPM
Gayoom moved to take control of the PPM tonight after a complaint was filed with the party’s disciplinary committee urging action against two MPs, including son Faris, who did not vote for a controversial tourism bill.
30 Jun 2016, 9:00 AM
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appears to be heading for a bitter political showdown with his half-brother and incumbent president, Abdulla Yameen, over a disagreement on controversial changes to the tourism law.
Gayoom, who heads the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, moved to take control of the party from Yameen loyalists, ordering Secretary General Mohamed Tholal to seek his permission before calling meetings of the executive council and other committees, local media report.
The 78-year-old also sent a text message to the party’s deputy leader, MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla, stripping him of the authority to administer the party, the MP told Sun Online.
The widening rift between the two brothers comes amid mounting opposition to Yameen’s two and a half-year rule. The embattled president is mired in scandal over the theft of US$80million from state coffers.
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