News Desk
Fayyaz Ismail, the chairperson of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), launched a scathing attack on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Friday, accusing his administration of attempting to subjugate the public and systematically dismantle local governance in the capital.
Writing on the social media platform X, Fayyaz expressed fierce opposition to the government’s decision to seize control of major land plots previously managed by the Male’ City Council.
“President Muizzu wants to subjugate the public and reduce citizens to a state of begging,” Fayyaz wrote, arguing that true national progress relies on the decentralisation of power—a principle he insisted only the MDP could deliver.
Rejecting any notion that the president supports regional autonomy, Fayyaz asserted that President Muizzu is “not a champion of the decentralised system, but its greatest enemy.” He pointed to President Muizzu’s past tenure as Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development, alleging that his contentious relationship with the local council during that period provided clear evidence of his anti-decentralisation stance.
Fayyaz argued that while serving as the Mayor of Male, Muizzu had demanded maximum authority for the local council, yet upon assuming the presidency, he moved swiftly to strip away those very powers.
“Today, he has seized all the land in the capital city,” Fayyaz said. He emphasised that overriding an elected municipal authority chosen by the residents of Male’ to manage local affairs represents an unacceptable overreach by the central government.
The criticism follows the government’s recent announcement that it would reclaim 14 prime sites across the capital for central development projects—a move that effectively eliminates nearly all designated public spaces used for spontaneous assembly and protest.
