New Maldives VP sworn in after former ousted

MALE: The president of the Maldives appointed his trusted tourism minister as vice president on Wednesday, a day after the parliament overwhelmingly voted to oust his former deputy on negligence charges.

President Yameen Abdul G ayo o m swo re in Ahmed Adeeb as vice president at a closed ceremony.

The 33- year- old Adeeb’s appointment was widely expected since lawmakers started a process to impeach Mohamed Jameel, who had been Gayoom’s vice president since they were elected in 2013.

Lawmakers even voted to lower the minimum age of eligibility for president and vice president from 35 to 30 to enable Adeeb to take the position.

Jameel’s impeachment was proposed by colleagues from his own government and supported by the opposition in what is widely believed to be in exchange for concessions for jailed opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed.