News Desk
A ruling PNC parliamentarian has called on the government to review the allowances, security and protections extended to former presidents, days after Nasheed, Solih and Yameen signed a joint agreement and took to the streets together.
Mohamed Ismail, Deputy Parliamentary General Leader of the PNC Parliamentary Group, made the call on X alongside a video from the night of the meeting. He said the state provides former presidents with allowances, security details and protection because they have served as the country’s supreme head of state, and because the arrangement is meant to allow them to live with dignity.
What he was watching on his screen, he said, did not look like dignity. It looked like the same few people being repeatedly put on the streets in various forms to divide the country.
“Such acts are unacceptable,” he wrote, adding that maintaining social justice is a collective responsibility. He said he believes the privileges and protections given to former presidents should be reviewed in light of what he described as their conduct.
The call comes after the three former presidents met, signed a cooperation agreement and led or attended street protests calling for the release of two jailed Adhadhu journalists. On the night of the meeting, police prevented the former presidents from leaving, leading to clashes between their supporters and police outside the venue.
Whether the PNC has the appetite to legislate on this is a separate question. The party holds 76 of 93 seats in parliament and could pass such a review with ease. But stripping or reducing the privileges of former presidents is politically sensitive territory. It would apply not only to the three opposition figures but potentially to any future former president, including President Muizzu himself. That calculation tends to slow things down even when the political will is there.
Mohamed Ismail’s post is a warning shot for now. Whether it becomes a bill is another matter.
