Speaker of the parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed has aimed criticism at President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih accusing him of being influenced by the Adhaalath party.
In a statement today, Nasheed said that in 2018 when the majority ruler Maldives Democratic Party MDP won the presidential election, it achieved success by a wide margin.
He noted that MDP gained political progress with the support of coalition partners but said that since then, President has allowed the Adhaalath party which Nasheed described as a minor coalition member, to monopolize Solih's every decision.
Nasheed said that it has become clear that the current dynamic of the coalition violates every principle of the country's representative democracy.
The speaker said that across the board, Maldivians have voted for progressive candidates who share their views and that they did not vote for religious extremists who would deny their liberty and remove things they love most from society.
Nasheed spoke of how Solih's government put forth the much-scrutinized hate bill that criminalizes labeling someone un-Islamic but eventually withdrew support for its own bill after conservative religious parties who are part of the political alliance with the administration objected.
Nasheed added that if the government is unable to employ the leadership required to support this bill and all of it stands for, then he finds it difficult to support the government.
