3 Addu islands excluded from referendum over no request, govt says

Hithadhoo, Maradhoo and Maradhoo Feydhoo will not be included in the upcoming referendum to change the jurisdiction of the Addu City Council, as residents of those three islands did not request to be part of the vote, a senior government official said on Monday.

According to a statement issued by the President’s Office on Sunday and a post by President Mohamed Muizzu, the referendum will be held only in Feydhoo, Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo.

The decision has raised questions from some residents of Addu on why no vote is being held in the other three islands.

A senior government official told Daur that the cabinet, at its meeting on Sunday, decided not to hold referendums in Hithadhoo, Maradhoo and Maradhoo Feydhoo because no formal request had been submitted from those islands.

“The government has received requests to form separate island councils only from Feydhoo, Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo,” the official said.

Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo, which are geographically separated from the main connected islands of Addu, have previously raised the issue of establishing independent island councils.

Currently, Addu is administered under a single city council in accordance with the country’s decentralisation framework.

Addu City Mayor Ali Nizar has criticised the government’s decision, alleging that President Mohamed Muizzu is attempting to “divide Addu” by forming separate councils instead of maintaining a unified city administration.