Former President Mohamed Nasheed has decided to retire from political activities.

Announcing this, Nasheed shared a statement in X.

In this statement, Nasheed said that he has been involved in various political activities in Maldives for many years. Noting that he had received the help of many people during the years spent in this work, he said that he considered his rivals and enemies as partners in his work. Nasheed thanked all these people.

"The purpose of my statement today is to say that I will be away from political activities for years. I will not contest the upcoming parliamentary elections." Nasheed said.

He further said that his political efforts focused on fashioning a multi-party system and making Maldives a place where Islamic principles are upheld, human rights are respected and people are guaranteed freedom of speech and pen. These things have now become very widespread, Nasheed said in a statement.

Nasheed, who was also the Speaker of the 19th Parliament, last represented Mahchan Agolhi Medhu constituency. Nasheed thanked the people of the constituency for their respect and trust in him.

Nasheed said he had suffered injustice, loneliness and grief in his political life and had to live away from his family. In 2021, the bombing on May 6, was a life-threatening incident for him, he stated. However, he found satisfaction and happiness in all this and all the traps in his head turned to lei.

He said he had served as the Speaker of the Government and Parliament to the best of his ability and was pleased with the progress made in the country.

Nasheed concluded his statement by saying that he accepted the opportunity he got at United Nations Environment Conference to serve as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He will serve in the position and will take up the responsibilities of the post from January.

Nasheed was first elected to the Parliament in 1999. However, he was convicted of taking documents from Velaanage and lost his membership.

In 2005, he led the MDP and won the 2008 presidential election. Nasheed ruled the country from November 11, 2008 to February 12, 2012. After resigning before the expiry of his term, he contested the Machan Agolhi Medhu constituency in 2019 and won the seat.