Nasheed urges MDP not to oppose UAE's Eagle Hills in WhatsApp message to National Council

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called on his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) not to oppose UAE-based Eagle Hills, just as a poll was circulating within the party’s National Council WhatsApp group to discuss a formal stance against the company. Nasheed’s intervention came after 66 members of the MDP National Council voted in favour of holding a meeting to discuss the group’s position on the real estate developer. The company was recently allocated a 500-hectare site in Rasmalé by the government, a decision that has drawn widespread criticism. In a series of messages to the WhatsApp group, Nasheed argued that opposing Eagle Hills and its chairman, Al-Abbar, would harm the MDP. He stated that he supports the Rasmalé project in principle and urged members not to attack the company. “I say again, this is very damaging to MDP. The UAE is a close country to MDP. By our actions, we have given the UAE to the PNC,” he wrote in one of the messages. Nasheed’s call sparked immediate backlash, particularly from a faction within the MDP aligned with presidential candidate Fayyaz Ismail, who sent separate messages against Nasheed’s position. The former president later asked for a show of support from National Council members who agreed with him, but received none.