President’s Office defies order to respond to RTI requests within seven days, despite warnings of legal action
23 ޖުލައި 2026 | ބުރާސްފަތި 08:46The Information Commissioner has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the President's Office's significant delays in responding to Right to Information (RTI) requests filed by RaajjeTV and its failure to comply with previous directives. Consequently, the Commissioner ordered the President's Office to address all outstanding requests within seven days, warning of legal action if the deadline was not met; however, the President's Office has since defied this order.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has held a hearing regarding a case filed by RaajjeTV against the President’s Office under the RTI Act. | Raajje MV
The President's Office has defied an order from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICOM) to respond within seven days to several Right to Information (RTI) requests filed by RaajjeTV.
Raajje TV has filed numerous cases against the President's Office under the RTI Act. However, the President's Office provided responses to these inquiries only after the expiration of the legal deadlines mandated for cases submitted to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICOM).
One of these cases involves a RTI request submitted by RaajjeTV on October 28, 2025, regarding the President's official travels. The President's Office did not provide a response to this request until July 8, 2026.
Furthermore, the hearing addressed a RTI request submitted by RaajjeTV on November 12, 2025. The request sought clarification regarding remarks made by President Muizzu during the Republic Day ceremony, where he alleged that middle- and lower-level employees were involved in corruption.
The President's Office initially responded to this Right to Information (RTI) request in January of this year. However, as the response was deemed incomplete, ICOM ordered the President's Office during a hearing in April to rectify and resubmit its response. A 10-day deadline was granted for this purpose on April 26, 2026.
However, Information Commissioner Ahid Rasheed expressed dissatisfaction as the President's Office failed to comply with the commission's directive within the stipulated timeframe.
Despite being granted a 10-day extension to respond to a RTI request filed by RaajjeTV regarding the Chagos issue, the President's Office has failed to comply with the order. The RTI inquiry sought to clarify whether President Muizzu has held any discussions concerning the Chagos archipelago.
ICOM has directed the President’s Office to respond to all outstanding RTI requests within seven days. Furthermore, the Information Commissioner has warned that legal action will be pursued if the office fails to comply.
Despite more than seven days having passed since the directive was issued, the President's Office has failed to provide a response to RaajjeTV in accordance with the ICOM order.
