Former President Abdulla Yameen held his party People’s National Front (PNF)’s first major rally on Thursday night, drawing hundreds of supporters to Artificial Beach in Malé City. The rally, titled “Wake Up,” marked the party’s first mass gathering since its inception in 2023.

Addressing his supporters, Yameen criticized political leaders and accused the government of corruption and mismanagement. He alleged that successive governments have repeatedly handed over Kaadedhdhoo Airport to Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim “as if it were his inheritance.”

Yameen further claimed the current administration is inflating state projects, pointing to the decision to award an island council building construction project to RCC, a company owned by Maldives National Party (MNP) leader Mohamed Nazim.

He also revisited the ventilator corruption scandal that surfaced during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration, alleging that funds from the case ended up in the account of a senior figure’s child.

Yameen said he continues to be labeled the “biggest thief,” despite being the only president whose accounts have been thoroughly scrutinized. “They could not hold a single sentence against me,” he said.

The rally was the first large-scale event organized by the PNF in two years and marked Yameen’s return to addressing mass gatherings — a move that could reshape the political landscape in the Maldives.