Ungoofaaru lawmaker presents emergency motion, accuses ex-President Dr. Waheed of lying about attack

Ungoofaaru lawmaker Mohamed Waheed (Wadde) has presented an emergency motion to the Parliament, alleging that former Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik lied about getting attacked by an activist from Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Wadde, a MDP lawmaker, presented the emergency motion at the parliamentary sitting on Monday morning.

The incident in question had taken place at approximately 07:00 am on Sunday, when Dr. Waheed and his spouse Ilham Hussain had been out for exercise in the Usfasgandu area of Male’ City.

Dr. Waheed wrote on Twitter that he and his spouse had been ‘attacked’ by a MDP activist.

“Strongly condemn the attack on me and my wife Ilham this morning by MDP activist Joarey,” wrote Dr. Waheed in his tweet.

He did not specify the nature of the attack in his tweet.

The police, in a statement shortly after Dr. Waheed’s tweet, said that a complaint had been filed with the police over Dr. Waheed getting verbally abused and harassed.

Presenting his motion, Wadde said that Dr. Waheed had lied about getting attacked, and was attempting to threaten and cause harm to private citizen.

Accusing Dr. Waheed of taking part in a coup to unseat former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, Wadde said that Dr. Waheed continued to bring “harm and suffering” to the Maldivian people even after the coup.

He described Sunday’s incident as a case of Dr. Waheed “lying about something someone said and using his power an influence to file a report with the police.”

Wadde said that Dr. Waheed had filed the report with the intention of causing further harm to the man he accused of attacking him.

Dr. Waheed had served as Maldivian President from February 7, 2012 to November 12, 2013, following the disputed resignation of Nasheed, under whom Dr. Waheed served as Vice President. MDP continues to assert that Nasheed had been unseated in a coup d’état, and that Dr. Waheed had been involved in the plot.

Dr. Waheed is often referred to as a 'traitor' for his alleged involvement in the plot.

The Commission of National Inquiry (CONI), established to investigate the claim, concluded that there was no evidence to indicate it had been a coup.

The report continues to be disputed to this day, and Nasheed, who now serves as the Speaker of Parliament has called for an investigation into the mutiny by the police and military on February 7, 2012, declaring is as a threat to national security.