President Mohamed Muizzu today admitted that the government has granted employment to individuals to secure votes during elections.
Responding to a question at a press conference at the President's Office, Muizzu stated that he would no longer provide jobs for campaign purposes or political gain.
"The people have signaled that the practice of granting employment for campaigns or political reasons must come to an end in this country. Therefore, I will proceed accordingly. As I mentioned, no State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) or Ministry should hire employees unless it is through a public announcement, an application process, and a merit-based evaluation of the candidate's CV. This is the policy the government will follow from now on," Muizzu said.
Granting government or state employment for political gain or to secure votes is illegal. Furthermore, Article 115(f) of the Constitution only empowers the President to create positions necessary for the performance of the President's duties and responsibilities.
While the President confessed to providing jobs for political purposes, the government distributed thousands of jobs leading up to the two elections held on April 4. Even hours before voting commenced, several state-owned companies announced hundreds of vacancies and recruited individuals for those positions.
However, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has not indicated that it is investigating any of these matters. To date, the ACC has not concluded any corruption cases related to the current administration.
