The Democrats decided to rejoin the MDP two years after a breakaway faction loyal to former president Mohamed Nasheed formed the new party. At a meeting chaired by Nasheed, the national assembly passed a resolution with 35 votes from 44 members present calling on members to return to the MDP. A strong opposition was needed to restore trust in the multi-party political system, the resolution stated.
The Prosecutor General's office withdrew terrorism charges raised against a ruling party lawmaker and two preachers over the storming of a 2022 Yoga Day event hosted by the Indian High Commission. PNC MP Mohamed Ismail and Sheikhs Fazloon Mohamed and Adam Nishan had been charged with encouraging an act of terrorism after protesters broke through police barricades, attacked participants and vandalised property. The charges were dropped because “the criminal act had taken place amid intense emotions over the activities of Yoga Day” and since they did not actively commit violent offences, the PG office said, noting that seven other individuals will face trial on charges of obstruction of police duty.
The special presidential commission formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding a 21-year-old woman’s unexplained ninth-storey fall concluded its inquiry and released a final report.
The ruling party supermajority voted out a resolution proposed by an opposition lawmaker about concerns by businesses over the requirement to pay goods and services tax for invoices before payments are made. Vendors owed payments from government agencies and state-owned enterprises have to pay taxes despite unsettled bills, MDP MP Niushad told parliament.
MDA MP Mohamed Abbas defended the unlicensed GMCE investment scheme after police warned that it was a pyramid scheme. Over 70 percent of MPs as well as the majority of political appointees and security service personnel were invested in the cryptocurrency scheme, none of whom have faced any losses, the MP for Velidhoo said.
The Maldives is the most open and competitive economy in the region, ex-president Waheed declared at an investment forum in New York, suggesting that the economy was in good shape with projected growth of five percent this year.
