Maldives’ main opposition parties who slammed Mohamed Muizzu’s ‘anti-India pivot’ to boycott his parliamentary address

The two main opposition parties of the Maldives, the Maldivian Democratic Party and The Democrats Party will not attend President Mohamed Muizzu’s statement in the parliament today.

The country’s media reported. This came days after the two parties slammed Muizzu’s anti-India pivot. The majority-holding MDP hasn’t yet disclosed the purpose of the boycott of Mohamed Muizzu’s presidential address. However, the Democrats said they would abstain from the meeting because of the re-appointment of three ministers who had been rejected by the parliament.

The presidential statement will be made today at 9 a.m. by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, according to the media outlet called Mihaaru. The President is required by the Constitution to address Parliament at the first session of the first term of the year, outlining the state of the nation and outlining his recommendations for how to bring improvements.

Opposition slammed Muizzu government
Last month, amid a diplomatic row, the two parties had described India as the country’s “most long-standing ally”. In a joint-statement, the two parties accused the current administration of making a “stark pivot towards an anti-India stance”.

“Both, the MDP and The Democrats believe alienating any development partner, and especially the country’s most long-standing ally will be extremely detrimental to the long-term development of the country. Consecutive governments of the country must be able to work with all development partners for the benefit of the people of the Maldives, as the Maldives has traditionally done. Stability and security in the Indian Ocean is vital to the stability and security of the Maldives,” they had said in a statement.

The statement had come days after the Maldivian government’s recent announcement permitting a Chinese ship, equipped for research and surveys, to dock at a Maldivian port.

Last month, tensions between the Maldives and India heightened as the former’s ministers made disparaging comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi registered a formal protest against the ministers over the remarks made over the PM’s visit to Lakshadweep.

The remark created a massive controversy on social media with Indian celebrities asking the masses to boycott visiting the country. Within three weeks of the row, India became the country’s fifth largest tourism market from third at the start of 2024.

Recently, the the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said India will remove its 80 soldiers stationed in the country by May. The first set of Indian troops will leave by March 10 and the rest by May 10, the Maldives said, citing an agreement reached at a high-level meeting in the Indian capital.

India’s external affairs ministry said after the meeting that the two countries “agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms” that provide humanitarian services to Maldives.

New Delhi had traditionally the Maldives’ closest ally for decades. However, its ties have been under strain since Mohamed Muizzu was elected president of the country last year.