Pres. Muizzu: Councilors are not elected to hold the government accountable

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, on Thursday night, indirectly responded to former Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim who is contesting in opposition MDP’s mayoral primary, stating councilors are not elected to hold the government accountable, adding campaigning on this promise sends a “wrong signal”.

The President made the remark while speaking during the ceremony held on Thursday night to inaugurate ruling PNC’s office.

In this regard, the President emphasized that the three branches of the state are constitutionally separate, reiterating that local councils function under the executive branch to implement developmental projects and provide municipal services to their constituents.

“Even by law, local councils are not entities with a mandate to scrutinize the government. If campaign is being conducted to elect individuals to councils on the promise of holding the government accountable, it, first of all, is a wrong signal. A signal that the public needs to be wary of,” he said.

The President warned that electing councilors with the intent to scrutinize the government would risk turning island and city governance into politically driven arenas, diverting focus from essential municipal responsibilities and development priorities.

“Would it not halt works in that island or city? No sincere work will be carried out with the intent of accountability, it will be just political work in any form to halt the government’s works and stop it from fulfilling its pledges to the citizens,” he said.

As an example, President Muizzu expressed concern about the slow progress of projects on some islands, noting that many initiatives—such as school extensions, mosques, and sports facilities—remain stalled because councils have not handed over the land. He stressed that this only negatively affects citizens and said he does not want to see such issues being reported. He added that projects can only be implemented swiftly with the cooperation of councilors.

“On the other hand, if councils that hinder the government from implementing its policies and politically challenge the government in ways that are detrimental to the public are formed, it would not only obstruct the direction we are moving towards but also represent a major step backward,” he said.

The President’s remarks follow comments by the MDP’s former chairperson, who said the Malé mayor should be someone capable of putting the government “in hot water” every day, describing Ali Azim as the only person able to do so.

Fayyaz’s remarks were also refuted by supporters of incumbent Male’ Mayor Adam Azim, who is also contesting in MDP’s mayoral primary in a bid for a second term in office. In this regard, they have described mayors and councilors as individuals whose priority should be serving the public in collaboration with the government. They added that it is the parliament that is responsible for holding the government accountable.