MDP’s Meekail Admits Party’s ‘Biggest Mistake’ in Failing to Repeal Freedom of Assembly Act

South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem has publicly acknowledged that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) made a “serious mistake” by failing to repeal the Freedom of Assembly Act during its years in power, a rare admission in Maldivian politics and one now reshaping debate over the country’s protest laws.

Speaking in Parliament today, while presenting his new bill to scrap the Act entirely, Meekail said the legislation directly conflicts with the Constitution’s guarantee of peaceful assembly. He noted that repealing the law was an explicit pledge of the MDP when it came to power in 2018, but the party allowed the matter to stagnate in the previous Parliament despite holding a supermajority.

“We acknowledge that one of our greatest mistakes was allowing the repeal bill to sit idle for so long,” Meekail said, referring to the earlier proposal submitted by then-Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir. “Political parties rarely admit their mistakes, but we proudly accept this as one of ours.”

Meekail expressed concern that recent protesters, including taxi drivers and youth demonstrating after the fall of a young woman in Malé, were charged under the same legislation, which he described as a tool used to restrict political activism.

The existing Freedom of Assembly Act was tightened in 2016 under former President Abdulla Yameen, banning political rallies in Malé without written police permission and limiting protests to a handful of designated areas. Rights groups have long warned that these restrictions violate constitutional freedoms.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham recently announced that the current administration intends to amend the Act, though details remain unclear. Meekail’s bill now puts pressure on the government to go beyond minor adjustments and fully restore the right to peaceful assembly.

With both major parties acknowledging the law’s flaws one for enacting it, the other for failing to repeal it  the coming weeks may determine whether the Maldives finally overhauls one of its most contentious pieces of legislation.