Jameel highlights reform record in message of thanks

The Maldivian Democratic Party on Monday voted to team up with Jameel, a controversial figure for opposition supporters because of his role in former President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster in 2012.

Expressing his “heart-felt and sincere thanks,” Jameel said he had always worked to “maintain the religious unity of the country, to preserve sovereignty, ensure the protection of law, safeguard constitutional rights, and ensure that the Maldivian people are the beneficiaries of the Maldives’ wealth.”

Jameel’s alliance with the MDP harks back to the later years of Nasheed’s administration when the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, tourism tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party, and Jameel’s now defunct Dhivehi Gaumee Party allied with the Maldives’ strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to topple Nasheed.