New Maldives leader faces rift

Maldives ex-president Abdulla Yameen will form a new political party, his lawyer said, splitting from his successor's ruling party and posing the new president a major setback ahead of parliamentary polls.

President Mohamed Muizzu, 45, was sworn in last week after being elected in September as a proxy for his pro-China predecessor Yameen, who was disqualified from the polls because he was serving an 11-year jail term for corruption.

On Friday, Yameen loyalists accused Muizzu of seeking to hijack the leadership of their Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and the former president will now form his own party.

Yameen "chose to resign from the PPM and President Muizzu's coalition", the 64-year-old ex-leader's lawyer Mohamed Jameel told AFP late on Friday.

"Yameen is now forming a new political party and a significant portion of the party is rallying behind him."

Muizzu needs to win a majority in parliamentary elections slated for next year to implement his legislative program.

One of the new president's key election pledges was to evict a small contingent of Indian troops.