Council told to retract statement criticizing president's visit
Rauf said the LGA had sent a letter asking him to cancel the statement before Monday.
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By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The Local Government Authority (LGA) has ordered the retraction of a statement issued by the N. Kendhikulhudhoo Council criticizing President Mohammed Muizzu's ongoing visits to the atolls.
The council issued a statement on Saturday accusing President Muizzu of misusing state resources and conducting campaign activities in the name of official visits.
The statement said that during his official visit to Kendhikulhudhoo last Thursday, President Muizzu made speeches to seek support for the ruling party in the upcoming parliamentary elections, in a manner seeming like a political event that had been organized by the council.
The statement said:
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The council made arrangements for the President’s visit when asked by the President’s Office
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The council arranged for the President’s meeting with the people and all the councillors attended the meeting
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However, at a certain point in the session, the President and the ministers changed their speech direction to a political podium to seek support for the candidates contesting the parliamentary elections on behalf of the party the president represents
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The council described the meeting as an official visit to seek support for the ruling party
The LGA has ordered the retraction of the statement, council president Mohammed Rauf told Atoll Times on Sunday.
“About 15 minutes after the statement was issued, the President's Office also called me last night and asked me to retract the statement,” he said.
Rauf said the LGA had sent a letter asking him to retract the statement before Monday.
“The LGA said that councils cannot issue such statements. They also noted that nobody had signed the statement to be held responsible,” he said.
Rauf said he had been involved in bigger issues in the past, issuing such statements from the Noonu Atoll Council and the Kendhikulhudhoo Council. However, the LGA had not asked to retract those statements, he said.
When the LGA asked to revoke the statement of the Kendhikulhudhoo Council, Chairman of the Parliament's Decentralization Committee, Ali Niyaz, said that the parliament would look into the LGA's directive.
"It is very clear in the law that councils are a separate legal entity and can both file lawsuits and be accused in their own name. Once elections are announced, the law should be followed by everyone," he said.
