The People's National Front (, PNF) is a political party in the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

History

Former President of the Maldives

Abdulla Yameen Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom (; born 21 May 1959) is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018. Yameen was elected president in the 2013 presidential election as the candidate of the Progressive Party (P ...

left the

Progressive Party of Maldives The Progressive Party of Maldives (, PPM), was a political party in the Maldives. The stated goal of the party was driving Maldives towards an independent and democratic, safe and secure, high income, high human capital, developed nation state w ...

after an internal conflict between the PNC and PPM coalition, then decided to form his own party. Yameen and other members requested approval for the party by the Elections Commission (EC) on 23 November 2023, but since Yameen was serving a sentence for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

and

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

he lacked the authority to do so. His aides went to the EC to discuss the new party. The 8 founding members of the PNF party are: *

(leader and co-founder) * Zain Abdulla Yameen (legal founder) *

Mohamed Jameel Ahmed Mohamed Jameel Ahmed (; born 13 October 1969) is a Maldivian lawyer and politician who was Vice President of the Maldives from 2013 to 2015. He previously served as Minister of Justice from July 2005 to August 2007, as Minister of Civil Aviation ...

(former vice president) *

Abdulla Jihad Abdulla Jihad (; born 3 January 1964) is a Maldivian politician who served as vice president of the Maldives from 22 June 2016 to 17 November 2018. Prior to his appointment on 22 June 2016, he served as the minister of finance. Early life and ...

(former vice president) * Ahmed Musthafa * Hussain Waheed * Adhlee Ismail * Ali Adam EC regulations allow only one official founder. The group chose

's son Zain Abdulla Yameen. The party's name, logo, and colors were unveiled on 25 November 2023. It adopted a logo and colors reminiscent of Yameen's previous party, Peoples' Alliance (PA). He was given permission to form the party and was given 3 months to submit 3,000 membership forms to the EC.

Inaugural meeting

The party submitted its 3000 membership forms to the EC and had been given the greenlight to have an inaugural meeting. It was scheduled to be held at Ghiyasuddin International School however, citing logistical difficulties it could not be held there, however despite being notified, PNF supporters still went there and supporters and

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

had clashes and the party was forced to hold their inaugural meeting near

Sinamalé Bridge The Sinamalé Bridge () links the islands of Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé in the Maldives. The 1.39 km long bridge has two car lanes and separate lanes for motorcycles, and pedestrians, and opened on 30 August 2018. It was originally ca ...

where Zain was named

Interim President An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, resignation or removal ...

until an actual senate is formed.

References

{{Maldivian political parties Political parties in the Maldives Political parties established in 2023 2023 establishments in the Maldives