Opposition candidate vows to restrict foreign ownership of land

MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Joint Opposition’s presidential candidate, has pledged to appeal the controversial law allowing foreigners to own land in the Maldives.

Answering questions at his campaign event, ‘Get to Know Ibu’, the presidential candidate said that he, as a parliamentarian himself, does not believe the law to be most appropriate, or its foundations to be right.

In his address, the lawmaker noted how the Maldivian Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, of which Solih is the leader had issued a ‘free whip’ for the vote. Some of the party’s lawmakers had supported its passing.

In 2015, the parliament, where the ruling party holds a majority, passed a law on foreign ownership of land in the country, that would allow foreign entities to purchase property in the archipelago. The bill was proposed by pro-government MP Ahmed Nihan.

Provisions in the amending bill stipulate that in order for foreigners to own freehold land, they must meet certain criteria, including that the project built on the land must be approved by Parliament, there must be a minimum investment of $1 billion “in the territory of the Maldives,” and upon the project’s reaching completion, “at least 70 percent of the land must have been reclaimed from the ocean and [be] visible at medium tide.”