The Democrats have alleged that the police are impeding the campaign efforts of other presidential candidates when President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih visits islands.
In a press release, The Democrats said the police had informed Kulhudhuffushi residents that no other political party or candidate would be permitted to engage in campaign activities throughout the city during President Solih's visit to the city.
The party also alleged that members of the main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in Lh. Naifaru vandalized the party's posters in the presence of law enforcement officers and even assaulted some Democrats activists.
"The president is going to the islands, using police and soldiers in riot gear to silence the voices of the opposition, and brutally arresting people," the Democrats said in the statement.
In their statement, the Democrats highlighted Transparency Maldives' acknowledgment of the President's alleged use of state resources, funds, and personnel for campaign purposes. The party insisted that prohibiting campaign activities on an island where the President is present, along with the destruction of their campaign materials, constitutes a direct infringement on the constitutional and legal rights of other candidates to campaign and engage in peaceful political action.
The Democrats have said they will not comply with orders to stop campaigning. The party called for an end to any hindrances imposed on their campaign efforts and for a thorough investigation into the damage to party property and attacks on activists in Naifaru.
