President: Muizzu may look different, but is the same as Yameen

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih addresses a campaign rally in Th. Hirilandhoo on August 27, 2023. (Photo/MDP)

The opposition PPM-PNC’s presidential candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu may look different, but he is the same as former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, warning that electing Muizzu to office would lead to the enforcement of the same “brutal” policies adopted by Yameen’s administration.

In a campaign rally in Th. Hirilandhoo on Sunday, President Solih said he has only just begun his efforts to create a “happy and peaceful” Maldives.

He said that his current term has been spent establishing essential services in islands that were neglected by previous administrations.

President Solih said that the Maldives hadn’t know peace during Yameen’s administration, with even MPs and judges living in fear.

“How would courts run freely? Any opposition, and the police enter courthouses and arrest judges. MPs who engage in free debate and express any criticism against the government were locked up,” he said.

He said that both Muizzu and Yameen promote the same policies.

“It’s the same person, just a different appearance. There is no difference. He will do the same thing. The policies are the same. It would not be wrong to disregard the others. But you must think hard about this,” he said.

“This is the same policies and the same mentality our rivals had even back then. This hasn’t changed today.”