The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has submitted a no-confidence motion against Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed to the People’s Majlis.
The motion, backed by the signatures of 13 MPs of the MDP parliamentary group, accuses Saeed of failing to fulfill his responsibilities and obstructing parliamentary oversight.
The six allegations:
- Failure to exercise due diligence in the management of state assets and finances.
- Failure to curb the rising black market exchange rate of the US Dollar, leading to high inflation.
- Obstructing the process of ministerial accountability to the Parliament.
- Failure to protect small and medium enterprises.
- Amendments to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act that jeopardize national sovereignty.
- The stagnation of major infrastructure projects despite high-profile announcements.
The motion further contends that Saeed misled the public by promising to bring the dollar exchange rate below MVR 15.42 should the government secure a parliamentary majority. Currently, the market rate for the US Dollar exceeds MVR 21.70.
"Despite the Minister’s pledge that the Development Bank would be operational within 2024, no operations have commenced to date. Furthermore, MVR 6.56 million has been expended on the bank as of March 2025, which serves as a clear example of the wasteful expenditure of state funds," the motion stated.
This marks the third time a no-confidence motion has been filed against a cabinet minister in the current administration. Previous motions were submitted against Home Minister Ali Ihusaan and Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal; however, both were defeated by the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) super-majority in Parliament.
