President of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed has said the opposition party Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has always opposed decentralisation.
Speaking at a function held to open a campaign office of an MDP contestant for Male' City Council, Nasheed said the PPM has always worked against decentralisation and tried to centralise powers in the past seven years. In the function which was also attended by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nasheed said the decentralisation process was faced with various challenges. He said the previous administration tried to centralise powers, weaken and close council secretariats.
Nasheed added Male' City Council continued its mandate for seven years without a place to work and lacked furniture and equipment, highlighting councils did not have a say in developmental projects. The president of the largest party in Maldives claimed the whole idea of decentralisation is a philosophy of MDP, stating efforts to populate Hulhumale' was also carried in his administration.