Maldives Oppn Calls for President Muizzu’s Impeachment Following Report on Alleged Corruption

The opposition parties in the Maldives have called for an investigation and the impeachment of President Mohamed Muizzu ahead of the legislative elections, citing a report that was leaked that said he was corrupt in 2018, a claim he refuted. The exchange of accusations between Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) and the major opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has soured the environment ahead of Sunday’s Majlis elections.

According to local media accounts, the political upheaval began on Monday when Hassan Kurusee, using an anonymous social media handle, posted information on social media about intelligence reports that had been leaked. These reports included documents created by the Maldives Police Service and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Maldives Monetary Authority, which purportedly connected President Muizzu to corruption.

These reports, which date back to around 2018, emphasize ten important red flag signs of financial wrongdoing and allege anomalies in money transfers to President Muizzu’s personal bank account. According to the news site Maldives Republic (mvrepublic.com), these factors point to participation with politically exposed individuals, embezzlement, complex transactions, and the use of business firms to conceal the source of funds.

The claims quickly sparked a political maelstrom, eliciting a wide range of responses on social media. Newspapers and news websites, however, proceed cautiously. The People’s National Front (PNF) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) called for an inquiry into the situation. Muizzu’s impeachment was advocated by former vice president Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed in response to intelligence assessments that were released. Reposting these papers on social media under the pseudonym X, Jameel emphasized the need of accountability across all governmental levels.

Senior Progressive Party of the Maldives member Jameel “also accused President Muizzu of extensive corruption in his flagship Ras Male’ development project and alleged excessive spending on public relations,” in addition to calling for Muizzu’s impeachment. According to mvrepublic.com, Jameel has urged President Muizzu to assist with impartial inquiries into these claims. The news outlet also said that this was the first time a FIU report had been leaked and that no official government comment or confirmation had been provided about the veracity of the claims or findings.

According to Adhadhu.com, President Muizzu addressed accusations of corruption late on Tuesday night, saying that the opposition cannot prove he did anything wrong, no matter how far they go in trying to prove it. He also said that the opposition was leaking the reports out of desperation. He claimed that the same accusations had been made during his presidential and mayoral elections, and that the same reaction would be given.

You tried to pin things on me in this manner earlier, but you are unable to do it now. No matter how far you push this, there’s nothing you can demonstrate against me, the president said, as quoted by Adhadhu.com. The Atoll Times provided a thorough summary of President Muizzu’s defense remarks, emphasizing that he would never violate people’s rights and that no matter how many accusations of this kind are made, no one would be able to provide evidence of actions taken in this way.

Since the opposition has been in power for the past five years, Muizzu said that any wrongdoing would have been exposed. The People’s National Front (PNF) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demanded that the competent authorities look into the grave accusations made against the president prior to the president’s statements. However, according to Adhadhu.com, no official investigative body has yet to comment on the matter.

According to media sources, 368 candidates are running for the 93 seats up for grabs in this year’s parliamentary elections, which take place on April 21. Whether the opposition parties can take action against President Muizzu, who took office in November of last year, will depend on the results of the elections.