Former Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed have sent greetings to the people, as the Maldives marks its 49th Republic Day.
In a tweet sent out on Saturday, Maumoon- who ruled the nation for 30 years- emphasized that having a republic government means that the power resides with the citizens.
His successor and the first democratically elected leader of the country, Nasheed said that "this is the best day" for the people to ponder on the current form of government.
The Maldives celebrate its Republic Day on 11th November. It became a republic in 1968, after many years as a monarchy.
