Newly formed political party People's National Front (PNF) has said the party will take to streets if former president Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who is currently serving house arrest after being sentenced to 11 years in prison for money laundering and accepting bribes, is not released.

Election Commission on Thursday gave PNF the go-ahead to hold their inaugural meeting. Following EC approval, PNF held a press conference where former Communication Minister Maleeh Jamal said that Yameen had been deprived of his electoral right.

"If Yameen is not freed, we will take to the streets to protest. We will gather near the President's Office if that is what it takes. This is one of the main reasons we are forming this party," Maleeh said.

He called on the Judiciary to schedule Yameen's hearings without delay. Maleeh added that if the administration is influencing the case, Judiciary should say no to the administration, adding that the President's Special Advisor Abdul Raheem Abdulla has been criticising Yameen unfairly.