The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has condemned former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for causing the DRP to split in two.

In a statement, the party said that it was “very clear to the citizens” that Gayoom’s objective was to win the 2013 Presidential election despite his previous resignation from politics.

Gayoom’s actions had revealed that he would not hesitate to disunite the DRP to serve his political ambition.

‘’The picture we are seeing today is that individuals in the party are declining to follow the democratic decisions of the party and giving priority to their own personal interests,’’ the DRP said.

DRP Z-Faction MP Ahmed Nihan said he could not believe that DRP Leader Thasmeen Ali had issued such a statement against the party’s founder and ‘honorary leader’.

‘’Maumoon is the founder of the party and the party’s charter itself has given him an honorable position of the party,’’ Nihan said. ‘’He is not trying to win or run in the next presidential elections.’’

He said Gayoom himself gifted the leadership and the presidential ticket of DRP, as well as MPs and  supporters, to Thasmeen, but that Thasmeen had failed to handle them.

‘’As the honorary leader of the party it is the responsibility of Maumoon to solve internal disputes in the party,’’ he said. ‘’Imagine how it would feel to keep watching while someone else destroys something you created.’’

Nihan said Gayoom had recently tried many ways to solve the disputes inside the party.

‘’But [Thasmeen] has been very careless, not responding to any calls or replying to letters,’’ he said. ‘’Thasmeen has even violated the party’s charter,’’ he alleged.

He claimed that rather than being concerned about the internal dispute in the party, Thasmeen was more  concerned about the Z-faction using the party’s logo and color.