Former Attorney General Dr Mohamed Munawwar has said that holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day is a feature of a dictatorship.
The government wants to hold the two key elections on the same day, but this was not included in President Mohamed Muizzu's manifesto. The government-controlled parliament passed a bill to facilitate his plan.
The Elections Commission (EC) is preparing to hold a referendum on the plans during the local council elections on April 4.
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In a post on social media X, Munawwar wrote that holding the two elections on the same date or together is a distraction from holding those in charge of running the state accountable.
"This is a feature of dictatorship. Let those leaders come to the people frequently," Munawwar wrote.
Munawwar and former Chief Justice Dr. Ahmed Abdullah, former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Suood and senior lawyers are advocating against the change. The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is also carrying out the vote no campaign.
