Opposition leader and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Fayyaz Ismail said on Wednesday that the party’s planned 3 October rally would go ahead, accusing President Mohamed Muizzu’s government of stripping citizens of their freedoms and undermining the Constitution.
In a post on X quoting the party’s statement condemning the government’s attempts to obstruct Friday’s rally, Fayyaz said the government was “stripping citizens of their individual freedoms and fundamental rights by undermining the Constitution.” He added, “The government’s incompetence has weakened the economy and impoverished the people. There is no choice but to go out and make the voice of the people heard. The 3rd October rally will go ahead.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the MDP condemned what it described as President Muizzu’s government’s attempt 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 characterised 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 added.
The rally comes amid growing concerns over “increasingly authoritarian” measures by the Muizzu administration, through which, critics say, the president has already taken control of the judiciary, independent institutions and the media. Since taking office, the government has pushed through constitutional amendments expanding presidential powers, consolidating control over independent institutions, and rolling back constitutional freedoms, most recently bringing media oversight effectively under the executive, according to observers.
Last year, the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution was passed in a single day, with the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) supermajority enforcing provisions that strip defecting MPs of their seats and, according to critics, give the government effective control over independent institutions through a rubber-stamp parliament.
Military and police personnel have been deployed across Malé and Hulhumalé ahead of Friday’s rally. In January, the MDP staged a mass protest in Malé, calling for the president’s resignation over alleged mismanagement and concentration of power, despite similar security deployments at the time.