The government hopes appoint a new Auditor General by next week, after outgoing AG Ibrahim Naeem was dismissed from his post by parliament earlier this week.
Assistant executive director and interim head of the Auditor General’s office, Mohamed Hussein, said according to the law Ibrahim Naeem was no longer the Auditor General and was not attending the office.
Hussein said he did want to reveal whether staff at the audit office were disheartened by parliament’s decision.
”We always work according to the policy of Auditor General at the time,” Hussein said.
The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the government was “seeking a capable and educated man for the position,” and hoped to fill the position next week.
“President Mohamed Nasheed has promised to appoint someone as capable and as educated as the former Auditor General,” Zuhair said.
Naeem was formally dismissed by parliament in a DRP-PA coalition-led no-confidence motion on Sunday, after corruption allegations were sent by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in a letter to a parliamentary sub-committee chaired by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.
The ACC also sent the case to the Prosecutor General’s office, seeking to initiate court proceedings.
Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem confirmed the office had received “a huge file of documents.”
“I don’t think [the case will be influenced by Parliament’s decision] as we look it from at a completely different angle,” Shameem said.
“It’s a different process to Parliament. We have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether or not he is guilty. Parliament decides on the basis of whether or not he was doing his job.”
Shameem said it would take “weeks” to decide whether the case would be forwarded to the court.
Meanwhile DRP Vice President and MP Ali Waheed said he wished Naeem “a bright future.”
Waheed said the 43-28 vote in favour of dismissal was successful due to votes from the Qaumee Party, Peoples Alliance and many independent MPs.
”This shows that even if a dictator tries to go against the law, the politicians of the country will not allow him do it,” Waheed said.
DRP held a ceremony at the DRP office following to the vote, to celebrate its victory in the no-confidence motion.
”We celebrated the victory as we had tried very hard for this,” Waheed said. ”We were arrested and police took us to Dhoonidhu and people tried for this so much.”
He said all the demonstrations over the weekend were because the MDP MPs “tried to deadlock the parliament.”
”We do not want parliament to be cancelled for even one day,” Waheed said.
He called on people to show the same effort when the parliament begins debate over the controversial decentralisation bill.
He said he do not want to say anything about accusations the Auditor General made against senior DRP officials in his audit reports.
”That will be decided by the court, whether they are true or not,” he said.
Zuhair claimed that the vote against the Auditor General proved the DRP had “the best interest of their political party in mind and not the best interest of the country.”
He said Naeem’s reports contained accusations against former government ministersare now independent MPs.
”That’s why they voted the way they did in the no-confidence motion,” Zuhair said.
He added that the audit report was not only the work of the Auditor General, “but a big team in the Audit Office.”
Minister for Home affairs Mohamed Shihab is another government official facing a potential no-confidence motion from the DRP, in response to a police decision to detain Waheed and several other senior DRP leaders.
Shihab said he would not comment on prospect of a no-confidence motion against him “until I receive notice of it from parliament.”
Spokesperson for Maldivian Democratic Party Ahmed Haleem did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
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