Remarks by North Machangolhi MP Ibrahim Mohamed (Janab), voicing support for extending Maldives’ presidential term “for the greater good” has sparked uproar on social media platforms.
In an interview to ‘Mendhuru TV’ that aired on Saturday night, Janab, the brother-in-law of incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, said that Maldivian history shows that administrations refuse to continue initiatives by preceding administrations, no matter how good the initiatives are.
He said that he therefore supports extending the presidential term beyond the current five years.
“I don’t believe it wrong to extend the Maldives’ [presidential] term like I said for the greater good, for the collective good. This is something that we can discuss. I believe it’s a good thing,” said Janab, a member of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and the paternal half-brother of First Lady Sajidha Mohamed.
“This requires public discourse. This also requires expert opinion, the opinion of the cabinet, and the opinion of the Parliament.”
The interview went viral on Sunday, with many taking to social media to voice resistance to the idea.
Shammoon Jaleel (Lucas), a political activist who served as a director at the Heritage Ministry during the previous administration, took to Facebook to vehemently oppose extending the presidential term beyond five years, saying that implementing such a change would require the government to “runover citizens with tankers.”
“Try to do something that’s actually useful,” wrote Mohamed Ayaz on Facebook.
Commenting on a news article shared on Facebook regarding Janab’s remarks, Abdulla Ibrahim Waheed wrote that while there may be some who are fine with extending the presidential term or even reverting back to a monarchy, the Maldivian people have a huge problem with that.
“I wish to remind you that the people aren’t willing to give you such an opportunity,” he added.
Many also took to social media platform X to criticize the remarks.
“I’ll make this short. Just forget about it,” wrote Atta Ashraf.
ވަރަށް ކުރުކޮށް ބުނާނަން. ހަނދާން ނައްތާލާ.
— Atta Ashraf (@atta22) September 14, 2025
Another person using the X account Neptune wrote that while he has never joined an anti-government protest, he believes that protesting against the government if it were to extend the presidential term would be morally wrong.
“They are already dropping this narrative to see how people react,” wrote Ibrahim Mukarram.
They are already dropping this narrative to see how people react
— Ibrahim Mukarram (@Mukarram_I) September 14, 2025
Many others have also joined the social media debate on extending the presidential term. The vast majority voiced resistance to the idea, while pro-government figures expressed support for having the presidential term extended.
The Maldivian constitutional declares the presidential term as five years. Changing this isn’t in the hands of the Parliament, where the PNC enjoys a supermajority, but requires a referendum.