The Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) much-hyped protest in Malé on Friday night laid bare the party’s disarray, with confused participants, broken promises, and a leadership that abandoned its own supporters when the situation turned tense.

For nearly two months, the MDP claimed it would rally 10,000 people to the streets of the capital. Yet only around 2,000 turned up, including groups ferried in from the islands under promises of food, payments, and accommodation. Once in Malé, many were left hungry and without shelter, sparking resentment among those who had been lured by empty assurances. Within two hours, the numbers had collapsed to a mere 500.

When police refused to allow the march beyond its agreed route, the lack of leadership was glaring. MDP figures who had urged people to gather quickly disappeared from the frontlines, leaving ordinary supporters stranded to face barricades and police officers. Instead of guiding the protest, the leadership effectively abandoned it.

With no strategy in place, some activists attempted to stir violence while the majority looked bewildered, unsure whether to fight, disperse, or wait for instructions that never came. The result was a protest without purpose: fragmented, leaderless, and rapidly diminishing in size.

What was promised as a historic show of strength ended as a display of weakness. The MDP’s inability to organise, control, or even protect its own supporters is now on full view - a reflection of a party that appears increasingly directionless, incapable of strategy, and unwilling to take responsibility for the chaos it creates.