Development projects not liked to election, says pres

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said on Sunday that past governments initiated development projects for elections, but his government is not carrying out projects for elections.

The president, who is in H.Dh. atoll to campaign for the September 9 presidential election, said the biggest fear is that if his rivals come to power, they will stop the development projects that have been started.

The president said that the most projects in the history of Maldives have been implemented during his term. 

"For sure, no money has ever entered my account. Not in the past, and not now in the present either. Even in the future, no company will deposit any money in my account," he said.

The president was referring to a report published in the Adhadhu newspaper on Saturday alleging that a foreign company had deposited money into the account of rival PPM-PNC candidate Dr Mohamed Muizz. In response, PPM-PNC claimed that the money was rent for a house rented by the company, and that the money was declared to the bank and taxes were also paid for it.

The president said that the previous governments had not done anything in the islands because of the high cost of the projects.

"However, today we are starting and completing thousands of projects at once because we are doing this with transparency. We are doing it in a transparent manner. That is our policy," he said.

"There is no relation with the election and these ongoing development projects. We started this work long ago, to provide services to the people."

When PPM was in power, necessities like transporting generators to islands was also linked to elections, the presiednt said.

Regarding the H.DH. Hanimaadhoo International Airport development project, the president said that if the opposition comes to power, the project will be stopped.

It is a project that will bring life to the Bodu Thiladhummathi region in many sectors, especially in the field of tourism, he said.

“We are hearing terrible stories that if power gets in the hands of our competitors, the airport project will be stopped,” he said, noting that the competitors do not have the vision to carry out such projects.

Despite the president's remarks, Muizz has promised to continue the project.

The government can only continue its work if elected for a second term, the president said, adding that the people should think about the outcome of the election.

"I have no doubt that hopefully this is already concluded. However, you have to think about what will happen if even a small mistake we make allows power to fall into the hands of others," he said.

The president said: