Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu sets world record with 15-hour press conference: Why is opposition demanding apology from him?

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has set a new world record by holding a press conference that lasted nearly 15 hours, according to his office. The event, held on Saturday, was announced on Sunday and claimed to have broken the previous record set by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

President Muizzu, 46, started the press conference at 10:00 am local time and spoke continuously for 14 hours and 54 minutes, with only short breaks for prayers. The session stretched past midnight, with Muizzu responding to questions from both journalists and the public.

The Maldives government said the press conference was timed to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, observed on Saturday. Muizzu used the occasion to highlight the importance of the press and called for factual, balanced, and fair reporting.

Around two dozen reporters attended the marathon session and were provided with food as the president addressed a wide range of topics. He also celebrated the Maldives' recent improvement in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, where the country moved up two places to rank 104 out of 180 nations.

Muizzu took office in 2023 and has since emphasized transparency and media engagement. His office said the record-breaking press conference showed his commitment to open dialogue.

The previous longest press conference by a head of state was held by Zelenskyy in 2019, lasting 14 hours, surpassing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s earlier record of over seven hours.

Before coming to power, the People's National Congress (PNC) led by Muizzu expressed concerns over the agreements signed with other countries, especially India, by the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government. Muizzu and his party's senior leaders have previously said these agreements will affect the Maldives' sovereignty.

According to PTI, responding to Muizzu's statement, former foreign minister and opposition MDP chief Abdulla Shahid criticised him, saying the people of the Maldives and India deserve an apology for his false claims over the pacts during the 2023 election campaign.

"After years of false claims, President Muizzu has now confirmed there are no “serious concerns” with the bilateral agreements between the Maldives and India. He won the 2023 presidential election on the back of a campaign that claimed these agreements threatened our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Shahid posted on X.