Vice President of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, Abdul Raheem Abdulla has said that there 'is no need to hold a presidential election next year'.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a party branch on Monday night, Raheem said that "there is no one to run against the President in the opposition".
"Therefore, there is no reason to hold a presidential election in 2018, President Yameen will win without an election," he said.
He said that the success of the events held by PPM on the 12th and 13th of August proves that opposition's claims that PPM and President Yameen does not have the support of the people "is not true".
He further noted that the party plans to hold such events across the country in the coming days, and that the opposition "will have to keep quiet then," adding that they will only stop their work after electing President Yameen in 2018.
There have been reports that PPM planned to increase the presidential term to seven years.
