Maldives’ opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, returning from exile on Thursday, said the new government, which his party backs, will work to pay off $3 billion of Chinese loans, mainly borrowed by the government of outgoing president Abdulla Yameen.
MALE (Reuters) – Maldives’ opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, returning from exile on Thursday, said the new government, which his party backs, will work to pay off $3 billion of Chinese loans, mainly borrowed by the government of outgoing president Abdulla Yameen.
Nasheed, a former president, returned from nearly three years exile to a hero’s welcome from his supporters after the Maldives Supreme Court stayed his 13-year sentence on terrorism charges this week. He has said the charges were politically motivated.
Thousands of people clad in yellow, the colour of the Nasheed-led opposition, lined streets in the capital to greet the former president.
Nasheed walked the streets with his supporters, who waved party flags along with president-elect Mohamed Ibrahim Solih who Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), main party in the joint opposition, chose as presidential candidate.
