Maldives president alleges his predecessor operated on orders from ‘foreign ambassador’

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has alleged that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from “a foreign ambassador.”

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has alleged that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from “a foreign ambassador.”

Mr. Muizzu, however, neither named any country nor any diplomat. The president made the allegation when he was asked about criticism from the opposition regarding the recent procurement of military drones during an interview with the Public Service Media (PSM). The interview was aired on Thursday night local time.

Ahead of the parliamentary elections, the main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has scaled up the attacks on Mr. Muizzu on various issues.

Earlier in the month, it was announced that Maldives has, for the first time, acquired surveillance drones from Turkey for patrolling its vast exclusive economic zone and efforts have begun by the state to establish a drone base in Noonu Atoll Maafaru to operate the military drones.

Responding to the question about criticism about drones, President Muizzu noted that the main opposition MDP, when it held office from 2018-2023, also held a supermajority in the Parliament.

“However, the party failed to protect Maldives’ independence, leaving it in the hands of a foreign country,” Mr. Muizzu was quoted as saying by Sun.mv, a news portal.

Mr. Muizzu further said that President Solih “had operated on orders from a foreign ambassador, which resulted in extensive damage,” according to the news portal.