Maldives' former home minister Umar Naseer has announced that he would not contest the ruling party's presidential primary if his main rival and incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom remains at the helm of the divided ruling party.
Umar Naseer, immediately after stepping down in July has been rallying support for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) presidential primary as he looks to go up against his former boss.
The ugly fallout between the two Gayooms reached a bitter end after the younger Gayoom was handed the party reins by a court order which was later backed by the appellate courts.
Umar told Avas on Monday that he would avoid the primary and contest the presidential polls slated for 2018 as an independent candidate.
"I won't win a primary that is being organized by my rival candidate will I? For example if I were to organize the primary I don't think even president Yameen would want to contest," Umar said.
Umar insisted that he would propose an amendment to the next PPM congress to hold the primary organized by an independent body.
Umar lost out on the presidential primary to Yameen who eventually went on to win the 2013 elections.
He was subsequently suspended from PPM after publicly criticizing Yameen.
Umar had supported Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate and business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim in the presidential elections and secured a cabinet post on a JP slot.
If forced to contest as an independent candidate, Umar expressed confidence that he would still have the backing of key political figures, hinting at the elder Gayoom.
