Parliament rejected the MDP’s no-confidence motion against Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed by 54 votes to 10, reflecting the ruling PNC’s supermajority. Defending himself, Saeed said that under the law the central bank, not his ministry, is responsible for the exchange rate, so questions about the black-market dollar rate should go to the central bank. He said BML had sold US$1.9 billion to the public at the official rate under the current government, nearly double the monthly average under its predecessor. He credited rules requiring resorts to exchange 20 per cent, and later 40 per cent, of their dollar earnings. Saeed also said a record 313 foreign investments had been registered since November 2023, but gave no figures on the cost of the government’s overseas investment forums. He defended the “sustainable townships” planned under amendments to the SEZ law. MDP MP Dr Ahmed Shamheed said none of the billion dollar projects Saeed had announced, from an international financial centre to a Malé–Fonadhoo monorail, had materialised. The motion, submitted in August, also cited Saeed’s 2024 pledge to bring the dollar rate below MVR15.42 if the PNC won a parliamentary majority.
At an MDP press conference after the vote, Galolhu South MP Meekail Naseem said Saeed had “insulted” the public instead of addressing their hardships. Despite the BML figures Saeed cited, he said, transfers from people’s own dollar accounts were taking two weeks to go through. Meekail also said parliament should not have raised the Chief Justice’s pay while an injunction request over Rasmalé was pending at the Supreme Court, calling it “direct bribery.” He urged the public to join the rally against the Eagle Hills deal, and warned Muizzu not to assume he would deliver his presidential address in February.
The “Maldivian land for Maldivians” campaign postponed its rally against the Eagle Hills Rasmalé deal by a week, to Friday 13 November, saying it needed more time to prepare now that the MDP had joined. Former home minister Sheikh Imran Abdulla called the MDP council’s resolution “a huge boost” to efforts to stop the deal, and said the government and Eagle Hills were under growing pressure. He also pledged that the movement would make sure a future government annulled the agreement, without compensating Eagle Hills, if it was signed against the public’s will. The government has not said when it will sign the definitive agreement, which was expected this month.
Maldives Gas will cut how much it fills cylinders from Saturday, citing rising global gas prices and difficulties importing gas. The 10kg cylinders will be filled with 7kg, the 22kg with 14kg and the 45kg with 31kg, with customers charged by weight at the existing per-kilo rate. The company called it a temporary measure, saying the government was working on storage facilities to hold three months’ worth of gas. It last limited sales and cut cylinder fills in March because of the Middle East war, and raised prices for 22kg and 45kg cylinders in June.
The Judicial Service Commission approved Supreme Court Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain’s request to retire with honour from 1 December. JSC began the process of filling his seat on the bench.
The MDP submitted a resolution to parliament calling for a referendum on the Eagle Hills Rasmalé project, acting on its national council’s decision. It also asks the government not to create any rights to the land for Eagle Hills or any third party before the result, and says the MDP would accept whatever voters decide. Parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Nazil said changes to parliament’s rules meant MDP MPs would struggle even to get a vote on debating it. Hulhumalé South MP Dr Ahmed Shamheed said parliament was obliged to consult the public before allowing foreigners to live in any part of the country.
The government signed a KWD 3 million (about US$9.7 million) loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to build a 50-bed hospital in Thaa Veymandoo. The finance ministry said the fund had also agreed to raise its annual lending limit for the Maldives from US$10 million to US$40 million from 2027 and expressed interest in financing the new Thilafushi port.
MACL said 115 of the planned 167 hectares had been reclaimed at Giraavaru Falhu, putting the project at 69 per cent complete, with the Queen of the Netherlands dredger doing the work.
Mohamed Firaq, founder and CEO of tour operator Inner Maldives, called for an investigation and legal action over screenshots of a video circulating on social media that appears to show two men holding a symbolic wedding ceremony at a Maldivian resort. Same-sex relations are criminalised under the penal code. The video drew widespread criticism online, although some government supporters said such ceremonies had taken place at resorts for years and could not be stopped.
Police suspect former foreign minister Abdulla Shahid of sexually abusing a child while in a position of trust, one of the most serious sexual offences under the law, and allege the abuse began earlier this year, Adhadhu reported, citing sources. Shahid was remanded for 30 days on Tuesday. He has denied the allegation, calling it a politically motivated attempt to destroy his reputation.
