Ruling party leader threatens constitutional change to remove MPs who protest

In an alarming escalation of authoritarian rhetoric, Ibrahim Falah, the parliamentary group leader of main ruling People's National Congress (PNC) and MP for Inguraidhoo constituency, has declared his intent to push for constitutional amendments that would strip sitting lawmakers of their seats if they participate in protests against the government.

Speaking during Monday’s parliamentary sitting, Falah justified the proposal under the guise of public order, claiming that lawmakers must model obedience and restraint to preserve national "peace", a term increasingly wielded by the ruling party to suppress dissent.

Falah singled out the recent Lootuvaifi protest, a mass mobilization led by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing it of violating legal norms and inciting confrontation with state forces. He claimed the protest endangered national stability and accused sitting lawmakers of physically obstructing police operations, naming the Kendhoo constituency lawmaker as an example.

This warning is more than political theater. It signals the ruling party’s intent to weaponize constitutional reform to punish dissent and silence opposition within the very institution meant to hold the executive accountable. Rather than engaging with the growing discontent among the people, the government appears poised to criminalize it, targeting even those democratically elected to represent that anger in the People’s Majlis.

Falah’s pronouncement of “significant amendments” to existing laws is a stark message: under this administration, protest is not just discouraged, it may soon be grounds for political erasure.

What unfolds next could define the future of parliamentary democracy in the Maldives. If peaceful assembly and parliamentary participation become mutually exclusive, then the government isn't protecting the republic, it's dismantling it, brick by brick.