Fayyaz urges ex-presidents to unite to save country from ‘authoritarian’ rule
Fayyaz made the remarks following the imprisonment of two journalists from Adhadhu over alleged violations of a Criminal Court order.
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Former Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Fayyaz Ismail, on Wednesday called on former presidents aligned with the opposition to unite against the government of President Mohamed Muizzu.
Fayyaz made the remarks following the imprisonment of two journalists from Adhadhu over alleged violations of a Criminal Court order connected to a documentary released by the outlet.
The documentary included allegations made by a former employee of the President’s Office regarding the President.
In a post on X, Fayyaz accused President Muizzu of violating the oath of office and said the country was facing authoritarian rule.
He called for ideological differences within the opposition to be set aside and urged political leaders to organise nationwide protests against the government.
“This is the time for opposition leaders—specifically President Mohamed Nasheed, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and President Abdulla Yameen—to come together and save the nation,” Fayyaz said.
Fayyaz also called on judges and independent institutions to work towards the release of the jailed journalists.
“We stand ready to work alongside the three former presidents without hesitation,” he said.
Among the three former presidents named by Fayyaz, Mohamed Nasheed is currently politically aligned with him.
Nasheed is contesting for the MDP chairperson position and has publicly declared support for Fayyaz in the next presidential election.
When resigning from the MDP chairperson role earlier, Fayyaz stated that remaining in the position while pursuing presidential ambitions could be viewed as unfair to other potential candidates.
During the 2023 presidential election, Abdulla Yameen was initially selected as the candidate of the PPM-PNC coalition. However, the Supreme Court ruled that he was ineligible to contest due to an active prison sentence at the time.
President Muizzu later contested the election on the ticket of the People's National Congress, which functioned as the coalition’s backup party.
Relations between Muizzu and Yameen later deteriorated, leading Yameen to separate from the government and establish a new political party shortly after the administration took office.
