Nasheed alleges civil servants being coerced into signing petition in favor of government

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s chairperson, former president Mohamed Nasheed, on Thursday, accused the government of intimidating civil servants to obtain signatures for a petition supporting a bill submitted to Parliament that would allow the government to repossess land currently under the jurisdiction of local councils.

The bill, submitted by independently-elect Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr who maintains close ties with the government, proposes amendments to the law that would empower the cabinet to assume direct control over land, lagoons, and reefs currently administered by local councils.

Petitions both supporting and opposing the proposed legislation have been submitted to Parliament, attracting thousands of signatures.

While the petition calling for the passage of the bill has secured 7,811 signatures to date, allegations have emerged on social media that civil servants are being coerced into signing it.

Reinforcing these allegations, Nasheed stated in a post on X that the government is actively seeking signatures for the petition submitted by its supporters. He alleged that employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in the islands are being threatened and compelled to sign the document.

"Coercing citizens to sign to demonstrate support for an issue ultimately harms the government itself. This damage lies in the government losing clarity on the actual level of public support," Nasheed wrote.

The petition opposing the bill argues that its passage would undermine the authority of elected councilors by transferring their powers to the Cabinet.

Under Parliament’s e-petition regulations, a petition must be referred to the relevant committee for review once it reaches 2,100 signatures, or 0.5 percent of the voting population. With signatures accumulating rapidly, the petition concerning the land bill has already been scheduled for a parliamentary session.

Notably, the petition supporting the bill was submitted following an abrupt amendment to Parliament’s rules last Tuesday by the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) supermajority. The amendment permits counter-petitions to be submitted against petitions already before the Parliament.

Furthermore, the current parliamentary session was extended for a second time last Tuesday to facilitate work on several matters, including the proposed bill.