Yameen vows to void Rasmalé deal at Malé rally; outlets differ on turnout

This page sums up what six published reports said about the rally. It is a record of what outlets said, not original reporting. Background on the deal is on the Rasmalé and Eagle Hills topic page.

On Friday night, 13 November 2026, people gathered at the Artificial Beach in Malé against the government's Eagle Hills deal for Rasmalé.^{1, 2}

The Maldives Independent reports that the "Maldivian land for Maldivians" movement organised the rally after a weeks-long campaign for a public referendum, and that the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party and former president Abdulla Yameen's People's National Front backed it.¹ The Standard Maldives names Sheikh Imran Abdulla, a former Adhaalath Party president, as the leader of the campaign.²

Earlier that day, police warned that the protest would be dismantled and legal action taken if any unlawful conduct occurred. They said organisers had not yet provided information on participant safety, public transport or pedestrian disruption, and urged people not to gather outside areas designated for assemblies.⁵ According to the Maldives Independent, police also said they had not been briefed. Organisers then said they had assured police it would be peaceful and end by 10:30pm, and it closed with a prayer shortly after 10pm.¹

Yameen was one of three presidential hopefuls at the rally. Fayyaz Ismail, a former MDP chairman and economic minister, and former vice president Faisal Naseem attended but did not speak.¹ The Standard Maldives reports that former president Mohamed Nasheed did not take part.²

Any government that follows, whether his own, the MDP's or that of any party other than the PNC, would reclaim the land and pay no compensation, Yameen said. He warned against starting "a war that cannot be won", called on PNC members, MPs, police officers and military personnel to speak out, and said the gathering marked the formation of a national movement.³

He told police, the military, PNC members and MPs that anyone who does not take part now is "complicit in this crime". He said those gathered represented patriotic Maldivians rather than any political party.⁶

People who facilitated the deal would face legal proceedings under a future government, he said.^{3, 4} He also called for a public referendum, arguing that consulting the public is a constitutional necessity.⁴ He called the issue "a national cause", and protesters chanted "Alabbar Out" and "Eagle Hills Out".³

Ali Hussain, a lawyer and the movement's spokesman, said settling foreigners, "especially people of non-Islamic faiths", was not in the ruling party's 2023 manifesto, and that the president was constitutionally obliged to put it to a vote.¹

Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir said the campaign would end only if the project was scrapped or put to a referendum.¹

It depends on which report you read. The Maldives Independent put the crowd at about 1,000, in the rain.¹ The Standard Maldives said the protest "drew only a small crowd", and added its own comparison that this was far below the crowds usually seen when political parties call people out on popular issues.²

Atoll Times, MV+ and Sun Online give no figure.^{3, 4, 6} None of the sources gives a counted or officially estimated number.

Organisers called the event neither a protest nor a political rally.¹ The Standard Maldives called it a protest by opposition parties.² Atoll Times reports Yameen saying the cause should not be tied to any political party.³

Atoll Times reports that Yameen's speech was cut short after electricity was interrupted at the venue, and that he kept chanting "Alabbar Out" after leaving the stage.³

Four other reports from the night, from the Maldives Independent, The Standard Maldives, MV+ and Sun Online, do not mention an interruption.^{1, 2, 4, 6} None of the listed sources says why the electricity was interrupted, or includes a response from the electricity company STELCO or from the government.

• How many people attended, by any counted or official estimate.
• Why the electricity was interrupted, and whether STELCO or the government has responded.
• Whether the government has responded to the rally. The Maldives Independent wrote on the day that the government has not said whether signing of the definitive agreement has been put off.¹
• Whether the movement holds further events. Zakir's remark that the campaign would end only if the project is scrapped or put to a referendum suggests it intends to continue.¹