Opposition leader and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Fayyaz Ismail on Sunday accused the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) of politicising and corrupting the country’s security services, saying the party was using the police and army to oppress citizens and enforce illegal orders.
“The PPM/PNC issues illegal orders to the security services and threatens jobs to enforce them. Every time they are in power, the army and police are forced to politically oppress the Maldivian people,” Fayyaz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Two years into this government, both institutions have been politicised and corrupted. You are mocking them by showing dictatorship and issuing illegal orders to the army and police.”
Fayyaz’s remarks came in response to ruling party lawmaker Ibrahim Shujau, who had accused the MDP of inciting hatred towards police. In the same post, Fayyaz shared a screenshot of a post on X by then-Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed in which Hameed condemned an attack on officers by PPM-PNC protesters at a demonstration.
“Two of our officers who were performing public order policing duties were spat at by a protesters) tonight. We are still in the midst of the #COVID19 pandemic and have had the highest number of local infections today. Strongly condemn this uncivilised act. Will be investigated,” Hameed wrote at the time.
The social media exchange followed a mass demonstration in Malé on Friday, organised by the MDP and supported by the Adhaalath Party under the slogan “Lootuvaifi Lootuvaifi” (“Stop the looting”). Thousands of people took part, including hundreds who travelled from other islands despite government attempts to restrict the gathering, according to organisers.
Police used pepper spray and high-decibel Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) to disperse the crowd attempting to march along Majeedhee Magu, the capital’s main street. Several protesters were injured during the demonstration, including MDP constituency vice president Mohamed Raslaan, who suffered a heart attack after close-range exposure to pepper spray and LRADs.
The MDP said at least 13 people were arrested, including two former lawmakers and the sitting president of Maafushi Council, and alleged that detainees were denied access to legal counsel. The party condemned the “violent dispersal” and warned that LRADs posed serious risks of permanent hearing damage, dizziness, nausea and other severe health impacts.
“These events highlight the rapid erosion of democracy in the Maldives,” the MDP said in a statement on Saturday, accusing President Mohamed Muizzu’s government of increasingly resorting to authoritarian tactics, undermining judicial independence, silencing the media, and deploying dangerous weapons against citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly. The party called for the immediate release of those detained and urged the international community to pressure the government to uphold democratic rights.
The Muizzu administration has come under intense criticism in recent months over economic mismanagement, rising debt, and corruption allegations. Critics have also warned of ‘increasingly authoritarian’ moves by the government, saying it has seized control of the judiciary, independent institutions, and the media through its parliamentary supermajority. Since taking office, the administration has enacted constitutional amendments that expand presidential powers, consolidate control over independent bodies, and roll back constitutional freedoms, most recently placing media oversight effectively under the executive, according to observers.