10 May 2018, MALE’

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) conveys warmest congratulations to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Nurul Izzah Anwar, and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the Pakatan Harapan, for the historic triumph of the opposition coalition in securing 121 seats of the Parliament and defeating the incumbent government, which had been mired with allegations of grand corruption and misappropriation of state funds, as well as criticized for the introduction of draconian and stifling regulations as the “anti-fake news” law that has drawn much criticism as a crackdown on freedom of expression and a tool to target the opposition.

The Party commends the excellent statesmanship of Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Anwar Ibrahim in prioritizing the interests of the Malaysian people and country, and galvanizing a formidable coalition against corruption and autocracy, which has resulted in this monumental success and heralded hope for the country and the region, despite immense challenges posed by government influence on state institutions and attempts to stifle freedom of expression, assembly and political activity. The results of these elections also augment the MDP’s firm belief in the efforts of the Joint Opposition to restore democracy in the Maldives while faced with strikingly similar dire and oppressive challenges of government corruption, autocracy, and brutality.

ENDS