Interim vice president of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Umar Naseer has held a ceremony to sign up 300 volunteers to kick start his campaign for the PPM Presidential primary on Saturday night.
Umar on Sunday said that he had secured 250 volunteers in a ceremony at Ran’ba Restaurant and added that the expected amount of PPM members is 30,000 and that he seeks a volunteer for every 100 members.
“From the work we did last night, we have secured 250 volunteers. Now we only have to find a few more volunteers. Last night I actually didn’t inform my full support base. Last night we only carried out the process of recruiting volunteers, identifying what they can do, signing and filling of cards,” Umar said.
Umar is to use the palm logo which former President and Interim President of PPM, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom used in his campaign in the 2008 presidential election. Umar said that he will campaign as “Umar 2013” using a palm as the logo, as he considers Gayoom’s palm as the finest. “Even if the palm did not win back then, Insha Allah this time it will,” Umar said.
PPM Parliamentary group leader Abdulla Yamin along with Umar are the only two PPM members who have officially announced to contest for PPM's presidential ticket in the 2013 election. Gayoom is yet to decide on the matter, although he had said he would consider running for president again "depending on the circumstances."
Both candidates have expressed confidence in winning the upcoming primaries. Umar had also hinted that his work had paved the way for the decision to go for a vote of general members to declare the PPM’s presidential candidate.
“This vote is something I gave to the PPM general members. Had I not worked for it, the general members would not have got the opportunity to select their Presidential candidate. Hence the primary is something which I carried on my shoulders,” Umar said.
PPM is yet to announce the date for its Presidential primary despite the launching of respective campaigns. The party had previously announced that the dates for its Presidential primary would be announced after PPM’s National Congress to be held in January 2013.
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