President of the People's National Congress (PNC), on Monday, stated that the opposition coalition, till date, has not received a reply for the letter sent three months earlier, requesting an audience with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Speaking at an opposition gathering, the PNC president also revealed that meeting requests to several other state institutions had also gone unanswered for the same duration. This includes the Ministry of Home Affairs, Maldives Corrections Service and the Commissioner of Police.
The PNC President criticized the validity of certain guarantees extended by President Solih during his televised speech on Maldives' 55th Independence Day.
Referring to Maldives' multi-party democracy, the president affirmed that the administration would value the input of those across the political spectrum, including the opposition, welcoming assistance in the pursuit of broad national interests.
During his address, President Solih had also called on political actors to prioritize national interest and to rise beyond shared differences and to not "politicize every trivial thing to create divisions and strife within our community".
The opposition leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla also expressed support for PNC Vice President Mohamed Nimal and former Hoarafushi MP Mohamed Ismail, both of whom were summoned by the Maldives Police Service over the opposition protest held on Thursday.
According to the police, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and PNC staged Thursday's protest in violation of the Freedom of Assembly Act in a manner that impeded the freedom of movement accorded to other pedestrians.
Attended by leading members of PPM and PNC, the procession dodged two attempts by the police to block the proceedings. Two individuals were arrested during the protest in which demonstrators demanded the resignations of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and severely criticized his policies.
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