The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Wednesday accused President Mohamed Muizzu’s government of attempting to disrupt its planned 3 October rally through intimidation and the use of “paid criminal actors,” following a statement from the Maldives Police Service (MPS) signalling their intention to intervene.
The party said in a statement that its ‘Lootuvaifi Lootuvaifi’ event would be a peaceful political rally and described police claims suggesting otherwise as “deliberate attempts at disrupting the rally using gross misinformation tactics.” “The Muizzu administration’s willingness to lie to the public has been an ever-present feature of the regime, and the police’s willingness to further these claims is only further evidence of a need for the protests,” it said.
The MDP alleged that the government was seeking to divert attention from reports highlighting its intent to use “external criminal actors to create violence at the event,” adding that it had lodged a complaint with the police linking the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) to criminal groups and raising concern over “the demonstrated intent of the Muizzu administration to harm protesters.” “The party asks that the MPS stay committed to their duty to protect the public, and to uphold the constitutional right to free expression and protest by ensuring that no external disruptions are allowed at the rally,” it added.
The party said its representatives had met with the police on 28 September to provide information about the rally, and reiterated that the event would proceed as agreed during that meeting.
In a wider criticism of Muizzu, the party said: “The police’s actions are only the latest in a long list of actions that highlight the rapidly eroding democratic freedoms in our country.” It accused the president of using parliament, the judiciary and independent institutions to advance “his autocratic agenda” and warned the Maldives was “on the verge of descending once again into totalitarian dictatorship.”
The MDP urged citizens to join the 3 October protest, calling it “the only remaining recourse” for the people to resist what it described as Muizzu’s “blatantly unconstitutional consolidation of power.”