The People’s Majlis is set to resume sittings on October 2, marking the start of the third legislative term of the year. While the official agenda for the sitting has not been disclosed, the Majlis Secretariat has stated it will be announced at a later time.

During the recent parliamentary recess, four extraordinary sittings were held to expedite government-priority legislation. However, the most controversial move came with the fast-tracked passage of a bill widely criticized as a direct assault on press freedom and an attempt to dismantle independent media in the Maldives.

This legislation was pushed through despite public outcry and protests led by journalists and citizens outside the parliament. Demonstrators gathered from the beginning of the sitting to its conclusion, demanding the bill be withdrawn. In response, police deployed disproportionate force, assaulting several journalists, some were kneed in the head, had their arms twisted, clothes torn, and were left bloodied. The excessive crackdown has been widely condemned as a dangerous escalation in state-sponsored repression.

Critics argue that the bill is part of a broader effort by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to consolidate power and silence dissent. Opposition parties have described the law as a tool to pave the way for authoritarian rule, while legal experts warn that the implications extend far beyond journalism, threatening the fundamental right to free expression for all Maldivians.

Just one day after the parliament passed the bill, the president ratified it, effectively enacting what many now view as a legal mechanism to suppress independent voices and control public discourse.

The law has triggered alarm both domestically and internationally. Concerns have been raised by the United Nations, as well as the governments of the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. Prominent press freedom organizations have also criticized the Maldives’ rapid slide into media censorship and democratic backsliding.

As the new parliamentary term begins, questions remain about the true agenda behind the Thursday sitting, especially in the context of growing domestic unrest and mounting international scrutiny over the Muizzu administration’s authoritarian trajectory.