Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas on Thursday claimed that 13 to 14 lawmakers from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) are prepared to leave the party “for the sake of the country and the people” despite the risk of losing their parliamentary seats.
Abbas, a member of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), made the remarks in a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, following a PNC parliamentary group (PG) meeting held on Wednesday.
According to Abbas, serious concerns were raised at the meeting regarding the Muizzu government’s policies, including the lack of development projects across the islands and recent controversial legislative moves.
“Some MPs said they cannot remain silent forever. They said they will not continue to watch changes to things that directly affect the people without being consulted, and will not support bills in Parliament without discussing them first,” Abbas wrote.
He also said there is an audio recording of the PG meeting in which lawmakers criticised the government’s handling of constituency development, claiming that the administration has done little beyond “eloquent words, announcing projects and laying foundation stones,” leaving citizens “angry and frustrated.”
The comments came the same day Parliament approved an amendment to the Decentralisation Act, which curtails the powers of local councils. The bill, which has drawn criticism from councils across the country, is yet to be ratified by President Mohamed Muizzu.
Abbas said PNC MPs raised concerns during the PG meeting that no meaningful development work was taking place in their constituencies, and that such dissatisfaction could not be indefinitely ignored.
There are 93 members in the 20th Parliament, with 75 representing the ruling PNC.
Following Abbas’s claims, several senior PNC figures, including PG Leader Ibrahim Falah and Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla, rejected the suggestion of dissent within the party. Both reiterated that the PNC PG remains united in support of President Muizzu.