Former President Abdullah Yameen has decided against taking part in the inauguration ceremony for the new President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
The Parliament has invited the former President to the ceremony to be held tomorrow evening at the Republic Square.
Yameen, who is serving an 11-year jail sentence, was transferred to house arrest following Muizzu's victory in the second round of the Presidential Election held in September. Maldives Correctional Services said that the transfer was due to medical purposes but Yameen has been seen in some political meetings.
However, Corrections said that the former President did ask for permission to attend Friday's inauguration.
One of his lawyers, Adam Shameem said that the former President has been convicted of a criminal act and is serving the sentence for the crime. He said that it would not be right for the former President to attend the ceremony in this situation.
Shameem said that the ex-President believed that a person like him who is serving a sentence for a criminal offense might cast a shadow on such a grand ceremony and that this was not acceptable in civil societies. He has informed his decision to reject the invitation to the Parliament.
Back in 2018, when the current President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih took the oath of office, Yameen, who was defeated in the Presidential election, did not take part in the inaguration.
