MDP slams govt for rushing referendum, urges international scrutiny

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) urged the international community on Tuesday to carefully scrutinize the developments in the Maldives, as it accused President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of rushing a referendum on constitutional reform in order to concentrate political power.

President Muizzu’s administration has pushed a constitutional amendment to synchronize the presidential elections and the parliamentary elections. While the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority in the Parliament to pass these changes back in February, it still requires a public referendum before it can be formalized, which President Muizzu has decreed should be held on April 4 – on the same day as the local council elections.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the MDP said that it remains deeply troubled by “President Muizzu’s rushed pursuit of reshaping the constitutional order to concentrate political power to himself.”

The party warned that synchronizing the presidential and parliamentary elections is a change that would remove the public’s ability to hold the government accountable during its five-year term.

Th MDP accused the administration of using its supermajority to rush the constitutional amendment – with just five minutes of scrutiny in the parliamentary committee and only two hours of debate on the parliament floor, with no substantive discussion.

The MDP also criticized the administration’s justification for this constitutional change, which the party said has swung between claims of minimal cost savings and the assertion that synchronized elections would institute social harmony because elections purportedly cause division within the public.

“This constitutional change and its weak economic justification do not withstand scrutiny,” said the party.

The MDP said it finds how it is being done, even more alarming.

“Rather than through inclusive national consultation, the administration has chosen to merge this fundamental question with the local council elections on 4th April, with voters given no structured information and no serious opportunity to understand what is being asked of them,” said the party.

The MDP said that the Elections Commission, in its discussions with the party, shared that it has not been able to create the required public awareness as mandated by law, while the public broadcaster, Public Service Maldives (PSM), mandated to educate the public on matters of national interest and to offer both sides an equal opportunity, have consistently failed to afford ‘No’ campaign the same platform as the government-backed campaign in support of the constitutional change.

The MDP said that these actions must also be understood within the broader pattern of an administration that has “systematically centralized power, weaponized state institutions against opposition members, and shown consistent contempt for the rule of law.”

The party said that the proposed amendment is not a technocratic efficiency measure, but the latest move in an ongoing project to entrench executive dominance and hollow out the checks and balances the Maldivian people fought hard to enshrine in their constitution.

The MDP called on the international community to carefully follow the developments in the Maldives.

“The MDP calls upon the international community to scrutinize these developments carefully and to make clear to the Muizzu administration that constitutional change imposed without genuine public deliberation and informed consent falls below the minimum standards of a democratic society,” said the party.