Nasheed: President Muizzu would resign, if there’s any democracy

It should be President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu who resigns and not members of his cabinet if there was any democracy in the country, says former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed, who has been campaigning for chairpersonship of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on a reform agenda titled ‘Bodu Badhalu’, made the remarks while addressing supporters during a visit to Addu City.

Explaining his ‘Bodu Badhalu’ or ‘Big Change’ manifesto, Nasheed said he had been surprised to learn that half of President Muizzu’s cabinet resigned on April 14.

“When I woke up at dawn in Washington, half of the cabinet of the State of Maldives was inexplicably removed. He said it was because of them that they lost the elections,” said Nasheed.

“If this were a country with any democracy, then it was the time for the President to resign. It’s not a situation where he can remain [in office].”

Nasheed said that losing the local council elections and the public referendum mid-term is no reason why Defense Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar, and Youth Minister Ibrahim Waheed (Asward) or any of the other ministers should be forced to resign.

This is not something that they can be made to bear responsibility for, he said.

Nasheed noted that President Muizzu has campaigned extensively in Male’.

“But the MDP swept all of the votes in the large city of Male’. Then he claimed that happened because of Ghassan, or Adam Shareef, or Asward. I am shocked,” said Nasheed, adding that President Muizzu’s administration had campaigned without any real vision or plan.

“We need to remove this President.”

Nasheed took office in 2008 as the first democratically elected president of the Maldives. But he resigned in 2012, halfway into his term. Nasheed characterized the circumstances of his resignation as a coup d’etat. However, the Commission of National Inquiry (CONI) set up to investigate the claim reported that there was no evidence to support Nasheed's version of events.

President Muizzu had reshuffled his cabinet and implemented other major changes in the wake of the defeat in the April 4 elections – changes that he claims were made to govern in line with “the aspirations of the people.”