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Former President Mohamed Nasheed has urged local councils and the public to launch long-lasting protests, warning that the country's decentralization system will be completely destroyed if they remain silent against government moves to take back council lands and revenues.
News Desk
Former President Mohamed Nasheed speaks at a rally of Maldivian Democratic Party - Photo: Sun Siyam Media File
MALÉ: Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called on local councils and citizens to immediately start long-lasting protests, warning that the nation’s entire decentralization system will be completely lost if they fail to take action today.
In a statement posted on social media, the MDP chairperson warned that street action and extended public demonstrations are now necessary to stop the government from dismantling local council authorities.
Nasheed accused President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of proposing legal changes to strip councils of their land and local revenue sources as a reaction to losing the council elections. He stressed that elected councillors and the public who voted for them must not remain silent while local governance powers are removed.
“Because President Muizzu lost the council elections, amendments are being brought to the law to take away the revenue and land of the councils,” Nasheed wrote. “If the councils do not come out for a long-lasting protest today, the decentralization system will be almost completely lost, and the councillors, along with the citizens who voted for them, will be left helpless.”
The call for sustained public demonstrations follows parliament’s recent approval of legal amendments that allow the Cabinet to remove land from local council jurisdiction for central government projects.
