Senior government officials have said that mass dismissals of political appointees will begin next week after the government's election defeat on April 4.
According to reliable sources, the performance reports of political appointees and senior officials of state-owned companies are to be submitted to the President's Office by Sunday.
"After returning from Umrah pilgrimage, a large number of people will be dismissed next week, including political appointees and those who have been politically appointed to companies," a senior government official said.
He added that many of the contract staff employed during the election will also be fired.
These changes are to be made because of the government's defeat in the elections and the economic challenges facing the country. The Iranian war has adversely affected state revenues, and the government has come under heavy public criticism for making large numbers of new hirings and awarding promotions to coincide with local council elections and referendum.
Although the move is seen as a step towards reducing state expenditure and strengthening government administration, the abrupt mass layoffs will lead to political turmoil, sources who spoke to Adhadhu said.
"There is no choice but to announce dismissals. But now it's too late. We expect very difficult days ahead," an official said.
President Mohamed Muizzu claimed that the number of political appointees will be capped at 700.
But the government later revealed that there were 900 political appointees. However, this figure is not accurate and the government has refused to provide an exact figure despite repeated requests under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Although the government spent heavily on election campaign, it did not win any mayoral seats or Women's Development Committee (WDC) President seats in any of the five cities.
The government also lost the referendum to merge the presidential and parliamentary elections.
