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Back to the Drawing Board

Will the return of former President of the Maldives, Yameen Abdul Gayoom change the political direction of the Archipelago or will he face opposition from those who once stood by him?

By Muhammad Omar Iftikhar | March 2022

In February 2019, the criminal court in the Maldives, ordered the arrest of former president of the Maldives, Yameen Abdul Gayoom who was held in custody on allegations of money laundering and the associated activities of fraud and corruption. Initial police investigations found illegal payments of around $1 million stashed in his bank account. Reports suggested that he may have siphoned off government money through a private company earlier involved in fraudulent real estate deals.

Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who is the half brother of former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, served as the President of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018. He lost the 2018 elections to the joint opposition candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. In 2019, Yameen was sentenced to five years imprisonment with a fine of $5 million, but his jail term was converted to a house arrest because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, in a twist, the court overturned the money-laundering and embezzlement charges levelled against him on the basis of insufficient evidence in the case. Following the decision allowing him to contest in the next general elections, scores of Yameen’s supporters gathered at his residence in Malé, the capital of the Maldives.

The overturning of the verdict could change the equation for the opposition and for the candidates willing to contest against Yameen. One of his greater missions while serving as the President was to strengthen the country’ bilateral relations with China, a drastic move which was viewed with caution by India –a traditional ally of the island nation. At the domestic level, Yameen’s government was active in silencing the opposing individuals, groups and the media critical of his government’s actions. Yameen also played a part in overthrowing the government of Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected president of the Maldives.

All set to resume his suspended political activities, Yameen will have a chance to undo what he did when he was in power. His opponents may not accept his return as his duplicitous acts are still remembered by his political adversaries.

Perhaps Yameen’s return to the political scene will create two factions within the Maldivian government. The first faction will comprise his close-knit political stalwarts favouring closer ties between the Maldives and China. The other faction, in a complete contrast, will consist of those politicians who are pro India. During his tenure as president, Yameen was also blamed for affording China an ample room to exercise its economic might in the Maldives, which is now under China’s economic debt trap. Opposition parties also blamed Yameen for allowing China to take hold of about sixteen islands mainly for his vested interests.


During the last decade, the relations between India and the Maldives have gone through a lot of phases and have turned from sweet to sour owing to Yameen’s pro-China approach. Interestingly, Yameen’s half-brother, former president and currently the party leader of the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM), Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, opposed the anti-India campaign and stood his ground when Yameen became the President in 2013. The political fabric of the Maldives has always opposed the anti-India stance view Yameen’s move is largely aimed at creating a dangerous rift between India and the Maldives.

In a statement by the Adhaalath Party, a coalition partner of incumbent President Solih, condemned efforts to “incite hatred in the people’s hearts towards neighbouring and global partners”, and expressed his concern at the “reckless acts led by former president Yameen to incite hatred towards neighbouring India amongst the civilians”. Similarly, the Jumhooree Party, another coalition partner of the Solih’s government, does not support activities which compromise the sovereignty of the Maldives. The Jumhooree Party does not believe that there is any Indian military presence in the Maldives.

In addition to that, the anti-India sentiment in the Maldives is in the spotlight because of the controversy over the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) which were given to the Maldives by India in 2010 and 2015. The helicopters were provided on humanitarian basis to help the Maldives in airlifting patients and for carrying out maritime weather surveillance as well as ocean search-and-rescue operations. However, as per the reports, Yameen’s party falsely propagated that the ALH machines were primarily gifted by India to have its military presence in the Maldives. Yameen’s party also misinterpreted the bilateral agreements signed between India and the Maldives, whereby the Indian officers were to offer training to the Maldives National Defence Force.

The ALFs were to be operated under the command of this Defence Force. Furthermore, in 2019 when the Solih government took charge, the local media speculated that the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) Harbour Project agreement between India and the Maldives will turn the harbour into a naval base for India. Now that Yameen is free, he may raise these concerns in public for his political gains.

It is anticipated that Yameen will re-build his political credibility and will go the extra mile to mobilise his supporters. He would also go back to the drawing board to further add value to the Maldives’ relationship with Beijing. It is yet to be seen how Yameen fares once he resumes his political activities. However, the time is ripe for him.

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