President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that a peaceful change of power has taken place only this time since the introduction of the multi-party political system in the Maldives.

In his Republic Day speech, the President said that when the people of the Maldives elected him as the President of the Maldives five years ago, the situation in the country was different. The people wanted peace in the streets, violence and chaos, and that the prison torture should pay the price for differences with the government.

"People entrusted me with the task of removing the fear that journalists had at that time. To put an end to the dominance of power over state power. The people placed this responsibility on me to bring democracy, human dignity and a free political environment to the country in order to get the old basic services that are not available," he said.

The President said that the fearful situation of the time has vanished and the safety of the streets was felt today. In these five years, the state has ensured that businessmen and the common people can continue with their lives despite differences of opinion, President Solih said.

"This is the only time that the process of peaceful transition of power has taken place since the country moved to a multi-party political system. Earlier, it used to happen on the court or the street, not by voting," he said.

President Solih further said that the people of the Maldives will be encouraged to see the presidential elections and regime changes continue in the future. It is the responsibility of all the next governments and leaders to uphold the achievements and implement them in the country.

"Governments will change, leaders will come and leave. The only thing that will remain is the citizens," he said.