Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom failed to secure a second presidential term because he did not make calculations with political foresight, Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdul Raheem Abdulla has stated.

Speaking on MMTV's program "Araairu", Abdul Raheem said that President Yameen lost the 2018 presidential election due to flawed electoral calculations, and that despite efforts to explain the reality of the situation to him, Yameen refused to accept the facts.

"If calculations had been made with political foresight, the likelihood of President Yameen securing a second term was very high. However, what we saw was political work carried out through non-political means. It is perhaps best to put it this way: the separate efforts conducted by individuals lacking political experience resulted in the political reality becoming obscured," he said.

Abdul Raheem stated that this prevented an accurate assessment of the political landscape, adding that there are current ministers and Members of Parliament who can bear witness to this.

"I compiled the figures and presented the breakdown from HA. Thuraakunu all the way to the individual islands of Addu Atoll, showing him the data. I told him we were falling short by between 18,000 and 20,000 votes and would not win. But he did not accept it. A month later, I went back and reiterated what was happening. Current Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed can still testify to this today. In short, it came down to a failure to calculate with political foresight," the Majlis Speaker said.

Prior to Yameen's departure from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) following President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s assumption of power, Abdul Raheem was widely recognized as Yameen's closest aide. Starting from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), through the founding of the People’s Alliance (PA), and during their work in the PPM, Abdul Raheem had consistently stood as Yameen’s closest confidant. However, relations between the two deteriorated after President Muizzu assumed office.