MDP slams Muizzu administration for weaponizing gov't institutions to harass opposition

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has strongly condemned the recent actions by the incumbent administration of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, which MDP claims are aimed at “discriminatorily” targeting opposition members.

The main opposition party issued a press statement on Saturday, condemning the incumbent’s misuse of state institutions to suppress democratic freedoms and silence dissent.

At around 2am on Friday, Maldives Police Service (MPS) conducted an intrusive search of MDP National Council Member Moosa Ali Manik’s residence while he and his family were asleep.

MDP asserted that this incident mirrors a “troubling” trend of intimidation and harassment directed at opposition figures, raising serious concerns about the erosion and speedy decline of democratic norms and respect for basic rights in the Maldives under the incumbent administration.

The opposition party claimed that the government’s justification for its actions relies on baseless accusations intended to defame MDP members as well as other opposition figures. The incident that occurred in the early hours of Friday is just the latest in a growing series of politically driven events that demonstrate severe government overreach.

This includes the Public Accounts Committee of the People’s Majlis announcing investigations into former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, former Minister of Economic Development and current Chairperson of MDP Fayyaz Ismail as well as former State Minister at the President’s Office Ali Shiyam, who served as a co-chair of the President's Economic Council, regarding financial settlements granted under the former MDP administration.

Further, it also included the issuance of travel bans on former State Minister Akram Kamaludeen and former Managing Director of Fenaka Corporation Ahmed Saeed Mohamed through an investigation initiated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) based on allegations of corruption.

MDP also noted that summoning MDP member Hussain Shafiu to the police headquarters recently for an allegedly “threatening” post on social media, was also one of the latest in a growing series of politically driven events that demonstrate severe government overreach, another one being threatening action against Fayyaz for a speech he gave at an MDP rally.

In its statement, MDP affirmed their full support for investigations into corruption allegations by the independent authorities as mandated by the Constitution of Maldives. However, the party stressed that recent amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, pushed through the People’s Majlis by the government’s supermajority, have significantly undermined ACC’s impartiality and independence.

In addition to this, MDP highlighted that this oppressive amendment grants the incumbent unrestrained authority to appoint the ACC president, giving the state effective political control of the institution, and turning it into a tool for pursuing personal political vendettas.

The statement goes on to shed light on concerns regarding MPS’s recent arbitrary discrimination over corruption investigations. MDP said that this highlights further compromise within the integrity of the country’s oversight mechanisms, and weakening public trust in independent institutions.

MDP said that these cases are being weaponized in a bid to target opposition members while at the same time deflecting attention from serious allegations of corruption against the incumbent administration, including allegations of gross misuse of state funds through the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), as well as corruption within the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in selling highly sought-after plots of land in the Greater Malé Region (GMR).

The statement also notes that MDP has lodged cases at ACC and sought from MPS to launch probes into these cases, with reports indicating that Muizzu himself has had active knowledge of, and possible involvement in, these corrupt dealings. MDP stressed that as of now, no credible investigations have been launched regarding the cases.

The main opposition party has called on the government to immediately halt its politically motivated persecution of opposition members and to uphold the principles of democracy, transparency, and accountability.

MDP has urged the international community to closely monitor these developments and stand with the Maldivian people in protecting the hard-won democratic freedoms of the Maldives.