Adam has no MDP values, covers up Muizzu’s graft: Ali Azim

Malé mayoral candidate Ali Azim on Thursday accused his rival, incumbent Mayor Adam Azim, of lacking the values of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and of helping conceal alleged corruption linked to President Mohamed Muizzu during his time as Malé mayor.

Speaking at a campaign rally at Artificial Beach, Ali Azim launched his bid for the MDP ticket for the Malé mayoral race and criticised both Adam Azim and President Muizzu. Ali, a former Central Henveiru MP and former MDP parliamentary group leader, said the MDP was founded on principles of accountability and anti-corruption.

He said Adam Azim did not reflect those principles. “The party has always advocated two-sidedness against theft and corruption. Adam Azim is far from those characteristics,” he said.

Ali alleged that several projects initiated during Muizzu’s time as mayor involved irregularities, including the allocation of land “at any price” and unimplemented projects. He said Muizzu had moved City Council documents to the Housing Ministry before a fire destroyed the ministry’s headquarters in December last year, a fire Ali implied was linked to concerns about the documents.

“When it burned down, President Muizzu thought that the details of the thefts would no longer be available,” Ali claimed. He further alleged that Mayor Adam Azim, elected on the MDP ticket, was now helping to conceal these issues.

Ali questioned Adam Azim’s commitment to MDP principles, saying: “Where is the right? Where is the rule? Where are the issues to be submitted? None of this is his.”

He then suggested that both Adam Azim and President Muizzu had “connections” with the documents destroyed in the Housing Ministry fire. No official report on the cause of the fire has been released.

Ali said the fire destroyed key documents but insisted that investigations would continue. He criticised Adam Azim for not pursuing these matters despite being an MDP mayor.

He added that land and property lease information kept undisclosed for two years had only recently been published.

Ali also accused the Road Development Corporation (RDC), which he said had family links to Adam Azim, of receiving land and property in Malé without a bidding process. He said many medium-sized businesses had raised concerns about this.

“Everywhere you look, you can see the land given to the company,” Ali said, adding that the allocation of “the most expensive land” to selected groups was unacceptable.

Ali said he entered the race to ensure a more equitable Malé and pledged transparency in land use and city development.

During his speech, Ali thanked former President Mohamed Nasheed and former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, saying he was encouraged by both leaders. MDP President Abdulla Shahid and party chairman Fayyaz Ismail were also present at the rally.