Special Majlis Deadlocked Over Constitution

Special Majlis MPs charged with forging the legislative framework of democracy in the Maldives have failed to agree on whether the constitution should be ratified bit by bit, or all at once.

The 26 opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have called for the parliament to enact the separate parts of the constitution one by one, with each new article, amendment or chapter being ratified as they are agreed upon. They say this will speed up the pace of reform.

But the government’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) does not want the constitutional changes to be implemented incrementally, but all at once. It wants the constitution to be sent to the President for ratification only at the end of the drafting process.

But the government’s motion on the issue, which was proposed by Meemu member Moosa Nizar and seconded by Mohamed Sulaiman, also a member for Meemu Atoll, was defeated when put to the vote.

Only 45 members voted for the motion, out of 81 who attended. That meant the motion fell, as a total of 58 votes are needed, rather than a simple majority. 17 members voted against, with 5 abstentions. 2 members did not participate.

Five other motions to amend the constitution also fell and by the afternoon session, when the details of the referendum over a parliamentary or presidential system was being debated, 6 members walked out and the session had to be cancelled, as there were fewer than 57 members remaining.

Every session of the Special Majlis has been cancelled due to low attendance in 2007, adding to many people’s frustration at the slow pace of reform.

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