Press Statement: International Anti-Corruption Day 2025

Read our full statement in English

9 December 2025 

On International Anti-Corruption Day 2025, Transparency Maldives reiterates our calls for the urgent protection of democratic institutions, public resources and the fundamental rights of everyone in the Maldives. In line with this year’s theme, “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity”, we highlight the importance of meaningful youth participation in policymaking and their critical role in preventing and eradicating corruption. 

We express grave concern over recent legal, constitutional, and institutional changes in the Maldives that pose serious risks to democratic governance. Despite widespread public opposition, amendments to the Constitution, the Judicature Act, the Decentralization Act and the enactment of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Act were carried out without adherence to due process, inclusive consultation, or meaningful parliamentary debate. These reforms appear aimed at centralizing executive power, restricting public rights, and weakening institutional checks and balances. Collectively, they erode citizen authority and undermine the fundamental democratic principle of accountable and shared governance. 

The Weakening of Judicial Independence and Rule of Law:  

Judicial independence has been severely undermined through rapid constitutional and legal changes passed without public consultation, concentrating decision-making power within the executive. Amendments to the Judicature Act enabled the removal of Supreme Court justices without adequate due process. This undermines judicial independence and increases opportunities for political interference, ultimately weakening the judiciary’s ability to hold corrupt actors accountable. 

The Weakening of Environmental and Climate Governance:  

Environmental and climate governance in the Maldives has been significantly weakened following the February 2025 merger of the Environment Ministry with the Ministry of Tourism and the restructuring of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into the Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA) under direct ministerial control. These moves consolidate conflicting mandates; tourism promotion and environmental protection and remove the last vestiges of independent environmental oversight. 

The 6th Amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulation in August 2025, which allows the Minister or Cabinet to fast-track “priority projects,” has further weakened safeguards by reducing EIAs to procedural formalities rather than science-based assessments. Environmental decision-making is increasingly shaped by political interests, heightening the risk of irreversible ecological damage and compromising the well-being of current and future generations. Compounding this, recent amendments to the Tourism Act now permit State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to develop resorts and tourism zones despite weak governance systems and limited capacity, creating new avenues for corruption, undervalued contracts, and mandate overreach. In the context of weakened regulatory oversight, independent institutions must identify and address these risks to safeguard public resources and ensure accountable, sustainable development. 

Undermining of Press Freedom and Civic Space:  

The enactment of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Act in September 2025 has triggered a marked contraction of press freedom and civic space. The Act centralizes regulatory authority under a commission whose members are appointed by the executive, raising serious concerns about media independence and democratic oversight. These provisions risk fostering self-censorship and deterring investigative journalism on issues such as corruption, abuse of state resources, and other matters of public interest. Free and independent media is a cornerstone of democracy, and any legislative reform must protect rather than constrain freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. 

The Weakening of Local Governance:  

The changes brought by the enactment of the Urban Planning and Management Act and the Urban Development Act, along with the two major amendments to the Decentralization Act have significantly weakened local governance by taking away their administrative powers, threatening their operational and financial autonomy, sidelining councils, abolishing key structures (Atoll councils) and imposing barriers to the provision of essential public services and development initiatives at the local level. The amendments consolidate all administrative authority within the executive directly contradicting the spirit of Article 230 of the Constitution. As a pattern seen in past elections, these reforms pose a growing concern for abuse of state resources through public institutions and State-Owned Enterprises in the upcoming 2026 local council election. The reform also centralizes power, weakens community rights, erodes local democratic participation, and reverse years of progress toward a system where communities have the authority, resources, and independence to shape their own development.  

United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) 

The UNCAC Review Cycle 2 for the Maldives under Chapters II (Preventive Measures) and V (Asset Recovery), completed on 10 October 2025, was conducted without broad and meaningful consultation of civil society. The full Country Review Report has not been published, depriving relevant actors of the ability to hold institutions accountable. The Summary Report highlights the need to strengthen existing anti-corruption frameworks and ensure rigorous implementation, aligning with national and international obligations to safeguard public coffers from entrenched impunity and secrecy. As the Maldives prepares to participate in the upcoming Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to UNCAC, the world’s only comprehensive legally binding anti-corruption instrument, we stress the importance of using this global platform to demonstrate genuine political will. 

As we mark International Anti-Corruption Day 2025, We reaffirm our commitment to combating corruption and to strengthening the transparency, accountability, and integrity across public institutions and among public officials.  

We call upon the State to: 

• Uphold due legislative process by ensuring that all future legal and policy reforms are transparent, consultative, and inclusive, guaranteeing meaningful engagement with citizens, civil society, local councils, experts, and affected communities before any law or regulation is enacted. 

• Ensure the independence and effectiveness of key institutions, including the judiciary, media regulators, environmental bodies, anti-corruption agencies, and local councils, by protecting them from political interference. 

• The Maldives to support resolutions that strengthen the implementation of UNCAC and Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM) during the upcoming Conference of States Parties (CoSP) 2025. 

• The government to practice broader inclusion of civil society during UNCAC reviews and to publish the UNCAC country review report (Review Cycle 2, Chapter II and V) of the Maldives. 

• The State to enact and enforce laws that strengthen anti-corruption frameworks, including legislation on asset recovery, asset declaration, beneficial ownership, and political finance. 

• The government to work collaboratively with civil society to formulate an effective National Action Plan under the Open Government Partnership (OGP), that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and ensure citizen participation of diverse groups to achieve sustainable and impactful governance reforms. 

-ENDS-