Former President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has stated that his half-brother and former president, Abdulla Yameen should not be able to run in the 2023 presidential election as he has been convicted of a crime and sentenced.

Maumoon made the comment while appearing on RaajjeTV’s ‘Fashaairu’ programme on Monday, where he stressed that punishing people who committed a crime, in accordance to the severity of it, is the most lawful way of handling such a matter.

Noting that his younger brother has been convicted on money laundering and sentenced to jail, Maumoon said that Yameen should not be allowed to contest in the upcoming elections.

However, the former president stressed that there are no issues with him running again, after completing sentence.

Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2019 after being found guilty of laundering USD one million acquired as an acquisition cost for GA. Vodamula, through state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). Fresh charges were raised against him in June last year in connection to the leasing of Fuggiri island in Raa atoll. Further, police are seeking charges against him over the lease of Aarah island as well.

The MMPRC scandal is the largest corruption case recorded in Maldives' history.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed and a number of then-opposition leaders were unable to contest in the 2018 presidential election as they were serving jail sentences, forcing them to team up and put forward a "common" candidate.