Freedom of the press will be unhindered during his tenure, President-elect Mohamed Muizzu has said. The incoming president, speaking at a SanguTV event last night, said that he would not get in the way of media progress and that he wanted to facilitate the advancement of media during his presidency.

“In our government, the media will be really very free, it will grow on its own, without any obstacles, to carry on as they would like without any obstacles, and with as much [support] as the government needs to give, with as much as I can do,” Muizzu said.

He also pledged to allocate a percentage of the state budget to private media and affirmed that the government would help students who want a career in journalism to get education and experience in the field.

Muizzu is set to visit media organisations individually during the transition period.

This is seen as a stark contrast to President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom administration where, under the Defamation Act which was also passed during the same administration, heavy fines were imposed on media outlets in what was widely characterised as an attempt to control the media – journalists were also arrested and charged under the act.