Former Maldivian president calls to withdraw from Commonwealth

Former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on Friday called on the Maldives to withdraw from the Commonwealth following what he termed the group's interference with the Maldives' internal affairs and their work toward electing a particular person as president. Speaking at the last-minute campaign rally by the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) prior to the presidential re-election, Gayoom urged the future president-elect to take action to withdraw Maldives from the Commonwealth. Gayoom said that the Commonwealth interferes with and influences the internal affairs of the Maldives and incites unrest in the country, and he discussed this issue with President Mohamed Waheed who announced his resignation earlier in the day. "I told the president today that since he has decided to resign, he can't do anything about this issue at the moment. But I want the next elected president to consider this and take action to withdraw the Maldives from the Commonwealth," he said. Gayoom said that the Maldives became a member of the Commonwealth during his presidency, but the situation has changed completely and the Maldives does not gain much from this membership. The Commonwealth expelled the Maldives on Wednesday from its disciplinary panel which has begun investigating the political chaos in the country after repeated court interventions that scuttled elections. The move came after the Commonwealth said it will launch a probe Wednesday into the political chaos in the Maldives, which is also a member of the 53-member bloc, and will take an "appropriate decision". Gayoom ruled the country for nearly 30 years before Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president. Nasheed is the frontrunner to return to power. The Maldivian Supreme Court postponed the country's presidential re- vote, just hours before it was due to be held on last Sunday to Saturday, a move slammed by the United States and the United Nations. Some politicians in the country alleged that certain foreign forces are interfering for the election of Nasheed for their own interests in the Maldives.