Ghafoor: Councils will be abolished if the government is granted a majority

Member of Parliament for the Hanimaadhoo constituency and interim Chairperson of the MDP, Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, has stated that all local councils in the Maldives will be abolished if President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s government secures a majority in the councils.

Speaking at a rally held to launch the local council election campaign, Ghafoor stated that this represents the final opportunity to vote for the MDP.

Ghafoor stated that the current administration has done nothing but deceive the public through lies and dishonesty. He noted that during the MDP administration, plans were finalized to construct 9,000 flats and allocate 9,000 land plots from Male', alongside a total of 40,563 plots from Hulhumale', Gulhifalhu, and Uthuru Thila Falhu.

Questioning the whereabouts of the land plots promised by President Muizzu, Ghafoor asserted that as long as those plots remain undelivered, the people of Male' and the Maldives are under no obligation to vote for this government. He further noted that during the MDP administration, 1,350 plots were demarcated and allocated from Hulhumale', adding that there is still land available for further allocations.

It was a presidential pledge. Why has this administration failed to honor that commitment? We successfully demarcated and allocated 1,300 land plots from Hulhumale'. There is still land available for further allocation. Why is there a hesitation to demarcate and hand over these plots? We heard members of this administration speak in Parliament, discussing losses to the state and submitting motions to the Public Accounts Committee to conduct audits on these alleged damages. That matter is still before the committee, with their proposals to audit the state's losses. Yet today, when the people of Male' come out in tears and plead for their rights, not a single one of these officials dares to speak up.

Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, Member of Parliament for the Hanimaadhoo constituency and interim Chairperson of the MDP.

He questioned what the current administration has actually achieved for the people, asserting that they have done nothing but engage in widespread corruption. Ghafoor stated his conviction that if the government is granted a majority in the councils, they will undoubtedly abolish all local councils across the country. Noting that the decentralization laws were dismantled after the government was given a supermajority in Parliament, he emphasized that this is the final opportunity for citizens to cast their vote for the MDP.

What is their true objective? If we hand these councils over to this government, they will use them as a tool to dismantle the entire local governance system. They will do nothing else. When they were granted a supermajority in Parliament and control over the state finances, they gutted the Decentralization Act—that is who they are. Therefore, if we give them control over the councils, they will use that power to abolish every council in the Maldives. This is a certainty we face today. Furthermore, if we grant this government a majority in the councils, we will never see another ballot paper again. This is the final mark we will get to make. If we use this vote to say "yes" to this government, then God help us, the era of voting in this country will be over. We must not let it slip away like that.

Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, Member of Parliament for the Hanimaadhoo constituency and interim Chairperson of the MDP.

Ghafoor stated that not a single drop of sweat was shed by anyone from the PNC to bring democracy to this country. He further asserted that the government should be ashamed to speak of democracy today, characterizing the current administration as one harboring intentions of authoritarian rule.

He stated that the country is being ruined and corrupted under the guise of democracy, while the public is being systematically deceived.