‘Deeply concerned’ — Muizzu gets flak from Maldives’ 2 largest oppn parties for ‘sharp anti-India pivot’

In joint statement, Maldivian Democratic Party & Democrats say 'alienating any development partner, especially the most long-standing ally, extremely detrimental to long-term development'.

Screen grab of a press conference by the MDP and the Democrats | Credit: X

New Delhi: The two largest opposition parties in the Maldives, the Maldivian Democratic Party and the Democrats, have expressed “deep concern” at President Mohamed Muizzu’s “anti-India stance”, saying that “alienating any development partner” could be detrimental to the country in the long term.

“The current administration appears to be making a stark pivot towards an anti-India stance. Both the MDP and the Democrats believe alienating any development partner, and especially the country’s most long-standing ally will be extremely detrimental to the long-term development of the country,” read a joint press statement by the two largest opposition parties in the Maldivian People’s Majlis (Parliament). 

The statement, issued after the parties held a press conference, comes at a time when ties between New Delhi and Malé are strained over remarks made by some Maldivian ministers over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s posts promoting Lakshadweep tourism.

Muizzu, seen as a pro-China leader who was elected to office in October after spearheading an ‘India Out’ campaign, has asked New Delhi to withdraw its 77 unarmed military personnel stationed in his country by 15 March.

The MDP and the Democrats have also committed to working on specific issues, such as limiting the expansion of the House, restricting the number of political appointees, and governance of state-owned enterprises.

Speaking at the press conference, MDP chairperson Fayyaz Ismail said the parties shared “deep concern” over the policies of the incumbent administration — including its foreign nd domestic policy — Maldivian news website Sun Online reported Wednesday. MDP is the party of former president Solih. 

“It is deeply concerning for us to see Maldives’ policies getting shaped in a manner that could create conflict within this region and endanger regional stability and security, and to see all this getting shaped in such a thoughtless manner,” Ismail was quoted as saying by Sun Online. 

The subsequent statement also flagged these concerns.

“Consecutive governments of the country must be able to work with all development partners for the benefit of the people of the Maldives, as the Maldives has traditionally done. Stability and security in the Indian Ocean is vital to the stability and security of the Maldives,” the statement said.

The parties also decried the “lack of transparency” in the signing of multiple Memorandums of Understanding with “foreign parties” — referring to Muizzu’s visit to China earlier this month, when the two countries inked 20 new agreements. 

The coming together of these parties is significant, as the Democrats were originally members of the MDP before splitting in May 2023 over their loyalty to the former president and speaker of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. 

Together the two parties have 55 seats in the 87-seat Maldivian parliament.

Areas of cooperation 

The two parties have agreed to cooperate on three areas — capping the number of political appointees by the presidential administration, limiting the unlimited expansion of MPs and parliamentary constituencies, and regulating the governance of state-owned enterprises. 

Political appointees have been an issue within Maldivian politics, with Muizzu reportedly promising to limit the number of appointments made by him to 700 during his election campaign. According to Maldivian media reports, the country’s former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had made 1,063 political appointments, a claim denied by his administration. 

The Maldivian parliament is expected to expand to 93 seats during the next elections slated to be held on 17 March 2024. The current strength is 87 seats. 

“The number of seats in the current Parliament is 87; the next Parliament of 2024, will hold 93 seats. We believe there is a need to review the projected and unlimited growth in the number of MPs and Parliamentary constituencies,” the two parties said in its joint press statement. 

The two parties requested an extraordinary sitting of the Parliament to “begin work” on the necessary legislations and constitutional amendments to enact their commitments. 

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)