Tag: parliament

Majlis endorses full cabinet

The People’s Majlis has endorsed all 15 of President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet ministers.

Ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), coalition partners Jumhooree Party (JP) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) as well as six members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted to approve ministerial nominees.

The ministers were endorsed despite the Majlis’ Executive Oversight Committee’s decision to reject eight out of the 15 cabinet ministers on Saturday. The opposition majority committee said the eight were “ministers of the coup government” established after the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

The MDP enforced a three line whip in rejecting the eight ministers, but had a free whip on voting for the remaining seven.

The six MDP parliamentarians who breached the three line whip are Abdulla Jabir, Zahir Adam, Ahmed Rasheed, Mohamed Rasheed, Abdulla Abdul Raheem and Ahmed Easa.

Two MDP parliamentarians – Ali Waheed and Alhan Fahmy – voted against all fifteen ministers.

Endorsement

During Monday’s vote, 73 out of 77 parliamentarians were in attendance.

Among the 15 cabinet members, Attorney General Mohamed Anil, Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed and Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim received the highest number of votes in endorsement, with each minister receiving 64 votes.

Minister of Education Aishath Shiham and Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Mohamed Shainee received 63 votes each.

Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal received 58 votes, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon received 55 votes.

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb received 45 votes, with Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim, Minister of Transport and Communication Ameen Ibrahim and Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Muizzu each receiving 44 votes.

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad, Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and Minister of Health and Gender Aishath Shiham received 43 votes each.

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer got endorsed with the least number of votes, receiving only 41 in favour from a total of 73.

Pre-vote Debate

The Speaker allowed one member from each party to speak on the parliament floor about the report prepared by the Executive Oversight Committee.

Progressive Party of Maldives MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla called on the parliament to endorse all members, specifically calling on opposition members to follow “the courageous example set by [MDP] Presidential Candidate Nasheed. He said that Yameen’s cabinet is compiled of the most capable selection of ministers that the country has seen to date.”

Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ilham Ahmed stated that the constitution demands that all ministers be endorsed. “There will be no reasons for regret by endorsing this cabinet. In any case, if there arises a need, the parliament has a mechanism through which we can hold ministers accountable. Jumhooree Party will not shy away from taking action against any cabinet member, whichever party he may come from, should he do something that may cause a loss to citizens,” he stated.

Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) MP Ahmed Amir stated that “it is unacceptable to not be able to endorse ministers without appeasing a particular individual”, and alleged that the Government Oversight Committee had not acted justly in reviewing the cabinet appointees.

Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) member Riyaz Rasheed added that there is no appointee against whom questions of capability can be raised. He added that the parliament should not set any conditions when voting to endorse ministers.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed said that the party will endorse members as appointing ministers is the mandate of the President. He added that the party would employ a moderate approach in holding the government accountable.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muhtholib stated that all 15 ministers met the qualifications required in a cabinet appointee. He alleged that the committee had failed to present sufficient reasoning for their refusal to endorse over half of the cabinet.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik stated that the party’s members would vote to endorse those they saw fit, and not the rest.

“There needs to be an opposition that holds the government accountable, and today that role is ours. We are a responsible party and we will do what it takes to hold the government accountable, even if it means bringing citizens out on to the streets [to hold demonstrations],” he stated.

“MDP stands strictly against coup d’etats. And even if a baaghee [traitor] changes their clothes and comes infront of us, we can see that they still have the characteristics of a baaghee.”

Background

The Executive Oversight Committee – compiled of a majority of 6 MDP members from a total of 10 – previously decided to reject endorsement of eight ministers.

The committee rejected endorsement of Nazim, Adheeb, Shaheem, Shakeela, Ameen, Jihad and Muizzu on the grounds that they were “coup ministers” as they had served in the previous Waheed administration.

The committee also rejected Home Minister Umar Naseer saying that various speeches given by him at political rallies made it “evident that he will not be loyal to Yameen”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Penal Code returned to drafting committee

Parliament has sent the Penal Code back to the special committee tasked with revising it with a majority of 61 votes. While three members voted against re-sending it to committee, two abstained from the vote.

The final draft submitted to the parliament floor was rejected by 36 votes out of the 72 members present in Sunday’s session, after which a vote was taken whether to send it back to committee for review.

Members from the government coalition parties voted against the bill, with Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof confirming to Minivan News today that a coalition whip-line was issued for the matter.

The Penal Code was submitted to the floor after seven years of review in the committee, having been initially submitted in 2006.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza – Chair of the Penal Code review committee – stated that the reason for the long duration of review is primarily due to the long periods required for reviewing and commenting by state institutions including the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The bill, if ratified, will replace the 52 year old penal law which is currently in effect.

The Penal Code and religion

Much of the arguments presented against the Penal Code revolved around the concepts of religion and Sharia law not being “sufficiently reflected” in the final draft.

Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muhthalib stated that “no human being has the right to rephrase divine laws in Islamic Sharia into separate articles in a law” and that he would abstain from voting on the matter as some scholars believe that participation in such an act may be blasphemous.

Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) MP Ahmed Amir echoed Muhthalib’s concerns and added that penalties on crimes which have a hadd [fixed punishments specifically mentioned in the Quran] sentences in Sharia Law are what most people have found concerning about the bill.

MP Ibrahim Riza who voted to send the bill back to the review committee said that the bill included some penalties which contradicted Sharia law mandates.

Religious conservative Adhaalath Party Sheikh Ilyas Hussain has also previously in March criticized the bill in sermons saying it will “destroy Islam”, prompting a parliamentary inquiry.

“If it is passed, there is no doubt that there will be no religion in this Muslim society that claims to be 100 percent Muslim. There will be no Islamic punishments. Refusing to incorporate even a single hadd is destroying Islam,” he had said then.

However, presenting the bill to parliament today, Hamza stated that in light of academic and technical expertise of the committee members, irreligious effects in the penal code have been brought to a minimal level.

“We are aware that various scholars from around the globe have commented on this work by Professor Paul Robinson,” Hamza said, referring to the legal expert from University of Pennysylvania Law School, under whose leadership the first draft of the Penal Code had been prepared on the request of then Attorney General Hassan Saeed in January 2006.

“Keeping this in mind, we took care to use our academic and technical capacity to minimalize any irreligious effects that might have been in this bill’s initial draft. Man-made laws are always less perfect than divine laws,” he stated.

The other main reservation put forth by members is the short period of time given to review the bill and submit amendments in.

The committee opened up the draft for amendments from December 24 to 26. On Saturday, December 28, the committee announced that no amendments had been submitted within the given timeframe.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom, JP MP Shifaq Mufeed, PPM MP Ahmed Nihan voiced concerns about the short period of time given for review when speaking to Minivan News today.

Mausoom said that besides the time limitation, he also noticed double penalties for the same offence in the bill, and that is why he voted to return the bill to parliament.

“The penal code is as thick as a generic A4 ream of papers. It is unrealistic to ask us to read and comment on it in such a short time. What we have now is a penal code that has existed for very many years. When we pass a new one, I do not wish it to be one that calls for amendments to be submitted every other day. We are not of the mindset that we want to reject it, but we want enough time to review it in light of the Maldivian people’s way of life, Islamic Sharia and existing laws,” Shifaaq stated.

Meanwhile Nihan described the bill as “a rushed job done to bring an end to years of it being pending in committee”.

“There isn’t a single member in the committee who has actually read this bill. How can anyone spend time on it when there are so many other important bills that also call for our attention, as well as the annual budget? It has to come with enough time allowance for us to submit amendments,” he stated.

Bill review

The review committee’s Chair Hamza maintains that the government was given sufficient time and opportunity to submit all and any desired amendments to the bill.

“Voting records show that it was members of the government coalition who rejected this bill. We provided sufficient time allowances for them to submit amendments. We have even included 12 of the amendments submitted by the Attorney General,” Hamza explained.

“In fact, we worked at length both with former Attorney General Azima Shakoor and current successor Mohamed Anil. We also gave opportunities for political parties to submit amendments, where even PPM sent in submissions. I do not understand why it was rejected after all of this. I am astounded. I sincerely hope the government will explain its reasons for rejecting the bill in the form of an official statement,” he continued.

“I do not see how it will be possible to ever pass the new Penal Code if it is to be left as everyone’s lowest priority. Members need to make time and work to pass this bill at the earliest. I have now scheduled a meeting of the committee for tomorrow. I personally hope to review this, open it up for amendments, incorporate what we will from those and have it resubmitted to the parliament floor by early March next year,” Hamza said.

Responding to members’ criticisms, Hamza pointed out that members had not asked for additional time for reviewing the bill during today’s parliament session, and had instead voted to return it to committee.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Bill seeks state funds for president’s private residence

Pro-government MP Riyaz Rasheed has submitted a bill to parliament seeking state funds to cover costs at any residence the president decides to live in.

According to the draft bill, if the president or vice president and their families decide to live in a place other than the official state residences, the state must provide funds to hire sufficient staff, cover overhead expenses, and maintain security at the chosen residences.

President Abdulla Yameen has announced he will reside in his personal home, while Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and his family live in the state residence Hilaaleege.

Increased Muleeage budget

Despite Yameen’s decision to reside in his personal home, the allocated budget for the official presidential residence Muleeaage has increased by MVR2 million (USD130,208) in the draft budget for 2014.

The allocated budget for the presidential residence currently stands at MVR19.1 million (USD1,243,486).

Earlier in December, Parliament’s Budget Review Committee Chair Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim said the increased budget was necessary in case Yameen decides to move to Muleeage.

If Rasheed’s bill is passed, the state will be funding both the president’s stay at his personal residence, as well as expenses for running the unoccupied official state residence.

Highlighting the increased budget for Muleeage, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP and International Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor described Yameen’s decision to live in his personal house as a “symbolic act.”

“Unlike in the past, even media points out inconsistencies in what leaders say and what reality presents these days. I do not believe the public will be deluded about any of this,” Hamid said.

“While Yameen might have thought his decision will get people thinking that he is a humble man, reality is that ultimately, the state is having to spend much more of its funds to maintain this decision of his. People are much more aware now than in previous PPM times. People can see he’s just trying to score political points,” he continued.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Majlis Committee to seek public opinion on Maumoon Hameed

People’s Majlis’ Independent Institutinos Committee has decided to seek public opinion on Maumoon Hameed, President Abdulla Yameen’s nephew whose name he recently proposed for the post of Prosecutor General.

Speaking to local media, Chair of the Committee MP Ahmed Sameer said members of the public can give their views on Maumoon Hameed through the People’s Majlis website till 10:00 am next Monday. He said the parliament is currently working on technical details to make this possible and comments submitted will not be publicized to prevent it from being abused. The committee members will seek answers from Maumoon Hameed for comments made.

“PG has the power to prosecute or not prosecute, so the committee felt it is very important to know the publics opinion on such a person. Our objective is to carry out everything related to his position in the most transparent manner, because it is such a revered and exalted position.” MP Sameer was quoted as saying.

Hameed who is a lawyer by profession has to win parliamentary majority approval before he can be appointed to the position.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Majlis committee opens up draft Penal Code for amendments

The Parliament’s special committee reviewing the draft Penal Code Bill has announced the completion of the reviewing of the bill and has opened the bill for amendments from parliamentary floor.

In a statement (dhivehi) released by the parliament today (December 24) stated that commenting has been opened until next Thursday 4:00pm.

Furthermore, the statement added that the final report on the draft bill has now been sent to Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid upon completion of the committee reviewing stage.

The long awaited bill, first submitted in 2006 and later resubmitted in 2009, took almost seven years to surpass the committee stage.

The first draft of the bill had been prepared by the University of Pennsylvania Law School under the leadership of legal expert Professor Paul H. Robinson, upon the request of the Attorney general in January 2006. The project was also supported by the UNDP.

Professor Robinson’s team have meanwhile published two volumes (Volume 1 and Volume 2) consisting of commentaries on sections of the draft bill.

“The author’s review suggests that the Maldivian criminal justice system systematically fails to do justice and regularly does injustice, that the reforms needed are wide-ranging, and that without dramatic change the system and its public reputation are likely to deteriorate further,” Professor Robinson wrote in his summary conclusion.

The bill, upon ratification, will replace the country’s 52 year old penal law.

According to local newspaper Haveeru, members of the parliament’s special committee tasked with the reviewing of the bill had urged all members to consider the connection between sections of the bill before proposing any changes.

The parliament had previously consulted with all state authorities including the Attorney General’s Office, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) and the police during the committee stage of the bill.

According to local media reports, the Attorney General’s Office alone had proposed over thirty changes to the bill including a clause mandating that the new bill will come into force within six months of ratification.

Criticism

The bill had also attracted severe criticism from religious sheikhs, most notably member of religiously conservative Adhaalath Party’s Sheikh Ilyas Hussain, who insisted that the bill would “destroy Islam” should it pass.

“If it is passed, there is no doubt that there will be no religion in this Muslim society that claims to be 100 percent Muslim. There will be no Islamic punishments,” the controversial sheikh said while delivering a sermon last March. “Refusing [to incorporate] a single Hadd [fixed punishments specifically mentioned in Quran] is destroying Islam,”

The fierce remarks made by Ilyas – who heads the Adhaalath Party’s scholars’ council and sits in the Fiqh Academy – prompted in a parliamentary inquiry where the sheikh was summoned to the committee.

New changes

Professor Robinson in the final report compiled that included the two new volumes of the penal code stated that a high priority had been given to ensure that the bill reflects Maldivian values instead of European, American or any other jurisdiction.

“The drafters have relied primarily on three sources. Of first importance are current Maldivian statutes. Where there is no applicable Maldivian statute, principles of Shari’a have been relied upon, especially those of the Shafi’i school,” read the report.

“Lastly, shared community values have been given deference, as reflected in the views expressed by the many Maldivian judges, prosecutors, private defense lawyers, government officials, and ordinary Maldivians we have met during our many discussions,” it added.

The new code will consist of three parts, the first part titled as the General Part contains all of the general provisions affecting liability and punishment. The second part known as the Special Part defines all offences and the third part contains the rules governing the sentences.

Among the major changes brought in the Draft Penal Code – which consists of more that 1,200 sections – includes grouping of offences into chapters based on the subject matter, modernisation of the existing offences and grading of the offences to reflect on the seriousness of the offences.

Previously speaking to local media, Chair of the Penal Code Review Committee MP Ahmed Hamza said the new code, if passed, would revolutionise the current Maldivian criminal justice system.

Hamza furthermore expressed hope that bill would be passed before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Public Accounts Committee considers conducting “special audit” of state companies

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is to deliberate on conducting “special audits” of all state share-owned public companies. The committee has scheduled debates on the matter for Sunday.

According to the Committee’s Chair Abdulla Jabir, the objectives are to have all state companies operating under the same umbrella group and to find means of liquidating companies that fail to make profit.

“We proposed the audit to bring down costs and strengthen the management of public companies. Members of the committee believe that the audit should study company performances in the past five years,” Jabir is quoted as saying in local media.

“We will be looking into whether there is a feasible way of conducting a “special audit” of such companies. Today, state companies need to be restructured and rebranded. We want to liquidate all companies that do not make any profit, and to place all other companies under a holding company that will then be established,” he continued.

Public Accounts Committee has further decided to summon Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim and Attorney General Mohamed Anil to Sunday’s meeting.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliamentary constituencies increase from 77 to 85

With additional reporting by Ahmed Rilwan

The Elections Commission, in its ‘Final Report on Electoral Constituencies of 2014 Parliamentary Elections’ (Dhivehi), have formally announced the creation of eight new parliamentary constituencies for the upcoming 2014 parliamentary elections.

The change means the number of MPs elected to the country’s eighteenth parliament will consist of 85 elected members of parliament.

The Maldives’ current unicameral parliament consists of 77 MPs who were elected in May 2009, replacing the previous 50 member parliament following the ratification of the new constitution in August 2008.

According to the new report, an additional constituency has been created in Addu City, Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Noonu Atoll, Alif Dhaalu Atoll, Thaa Atoll and Gaaf Dhaalu Atoll while two new constituencies have been created in Capital Male’ City.

New Constituencies

According to the report, two administrative wards of Male’ City, Villimale and Hulhumale – which are geographically separate islands from Male Island – have now been declared as two separate constituencies.

From Haa Dhaalu Atoll, a new ‘Makunudhoo Constituency’ is formed to include the islands of Makunudhoo, Kumundhoo and Neykurendhoo.  From Noonu Atoll, a new ‘Holhudhoo Constituency’ is formed to include the islands of Miladhoo, Holhudhoo and Magoodhoo.

From Alif Dhaalu Atoll, a new ‘Dhan’gethi Constituency’ is formed to include the islands of Dhidhoo, Mandhoo, Dhigurah, Dhan’gethi and Omadhoo.

From Thaa Atoll, a new constituency ‘Thaa Guraidhoo Constituency’ is formed to include islands of Guraidhoo, Gaadhiffushi and Dhiyamigili.

From Gaaf Dhaalu Atoll, the existing Thinadhoo Constituency is split into two new constituencies the ‘Thinadhoo North Constituency and the Thinadhoo South Constituency – following an increment of the island’s population within the past five years.

From Addu City, the existing Hulhu-Meedhoo Constituency was split into two new constituencies, the new ‘Hulhudhoo Constituency’ for the ward of Hulhudhoo and ‘Addu Meedhoo Constituency’ for the wards of Meedhoo and Maradhoo-Feydhoo of Addu City.

Naming of constituencies

Furthermore, several islands which constitutes to current constituencies in parliament have been switched to other constituencies to balance the population representation of each of the constituencies.

According to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2009, two parliamentary seats must be allotted for the first 5,000 people who are permanently registered in every single registered-population – that may or may not include more than one island to form the figure – and one additional parliamentary seat for every additional 5,000 people.

The law also requires the electoral constituencies to be formed based on the twenty-one administrative regions including Male’ as the primary registered-populations.

Elections Commission furthermore states that each constituency have been named after the island in the constituency that has the largest population.

However due to two islands in different atolls having the same name, the similarly named constituencies have now been named including the atoll of which the constituency belongs to.

For example, the report claimed, two constituencies, one in Kaafu Atoll and the other in Thaa Atoll, have a constituency named ‘Guraidhoo Constituency’.

To avoid any confusions, the constituencies have now been renamed to include the first Dhivehi letter of the atoll which the constituency belongs, thereby the Guraidhoo Constituency in Thaa Atoll is renamed “Thaa Guraidhoo Constituency” and the one in Kaafu Atoll is renamed as “Kaafu Guraidhoo Constituency”, the report stated.

Increased expenditure on MP’s pay

Following a salary revision after the parliamentary elections 2009 that saw the base salary of an MP raised to MVR 62,500 (US$ 4,053) and a further inclusion of an additional MVR 20,000 (US$ 1,297) as committee allowance, a Maldivian MP currently earns a total of MVR 82,500 (US$ 5,350) – a sum which is far more than many of the other developed countries.

The parliament therefore spends approximately MVR 6,352,500 (US$ 411,964.98) per month on remunerations of MPs meaning approximately MVR 76.23 million (US$ 4.94 million) is spent on wages per year.

The new increment on number of MPs could mean that approximately MVR 7,012,500 (US$ 454,766.54) would be spent per month as salaries for 85 MPs – an increment of MVR 660,000 (US$ 42,801) spent on MP’s wages.

This means MVR 84.15 million (US$ 5.45 million) would be spent per year – an increment of MVR 7.92 million (US$ 513,612) per year.

Previously, MPs’ decision to increase their own remunerations – including a back pay of committee allowances –  were met by harsh criticism from both the public and local NGO’s leading to public protests.

Aiman Rasheed of local NGO, Transparency Maldives – one of the key local NGO’s who expressed concerns over the pay hike – told Minivan News at the time that the pay rise was symptomatic of “inherent problems in the entire system.”

“With such a high budget deficit and high inflation, we do not accept that the hike [in remuneration] is at all responsible,” he said at the time.

The matter resulted in a Civil Court case which was later dismissed.

In order to tackle the increased expenditure due to expansion of the parliamentary composition, government aligned Maldivian Development Alliance MP Ahmed ‘Aims’ Amir proposed a constitutional amendment that would prevent any further increase of parliament’s size.

However, the bill still remains pending in parliament.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Submission of revised budget delayed for fourth time

Amendments to the 2014 state budget could not be submitted as scheduled today, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has stated, delaying the submission process for the fourth time.

The budget – submitted by the outgoing administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed – has been undergoing amendments in accordance with the aims of the new government of President Abdulla Yameen.

Jihad – finance minister under both presidents – told local media today that although the final draft cannot be submitted to parliament today, the majority of the work had been completed.

He stated that the main reason for the delay was that the government had so far not provided enough details about some projects they wished to include in the budget.

Jihad asserted that a final draft of the budget with all the required amendments will be ready for submission by Sunday, December 8.

The Finance Ministry has stated that issues such as decreasing overtime allowances and non-profit allowances, and revising conditions for the provision of subsidies will be reviewed when submitting the newly amended budget.

President Yameen has expressed concern over the economic vulnerability of the Maldives and pledged to reduce state expenditure by MVR1 billion (US$64.9million).

“State debt is sky high. The state budget’s expenses are extremely high. Hence, we have to prioritise reducing state expenditure. I will start work very soon to reduce budget expenses,” Yameen said during his inauguration speech.

The Maldives Monetary Authorities’ (MMA) most recent quarterly review noted that Government finances had “further deteriorated in the first six months of 2013” due to a sizeable shortfall in expected revenue coupled with a marked increase in recurrent expenditure.

While the delay has brought the work of Parliament’s budget committee to a temporary halt, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has instructed the committee to submit its final review report on the budget to the Parliament floor by December 15.

Elsewhere, the Public Accounts Committee has today passed a proposal for the government to obtain a US$29million loan from the Bank of Ceylon as annual budget support and submitted it to the parliament.

The loan request was submitted by the Waheed administration in September.

The Public Accounts Committee report outlines that the loan is to be paid back by the government in a period of six years. The loan has a grace period of one year, after which a monthly payment of US$490,000 has to be paid to the Bank of Ceylon.

The committee has passed the proposal for the loan despite it having an 8% interest rate – the parliament had previously decided that any loans taken by the government must have an interest rate of no higher than 7%.

Earlier this week Indian media reported that the country would soon be releasing a further installment of the US$100million standby credit facility.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament to review constitutional amendment regarding religion

An amendment seeking to inhibit parliament’s scope to change the constitutional guarantee of Islam as the Maldivian state religion has been accepted by the parliament.

The proposal was submitted by Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) MP Ahmed Amir, who argued that the relevant clauses must be protected from the legislature.

“I find it very disturbing that the constitutional requirement of holy Islam staying as the religion of the state is subject to being changed just by the parliament if they so wish. And thereby, with the belief that changing it so that MPs alone cannot bring any changes to this article will bring peace to the minds of the parliamentarians, I have taken the initiative to propose this,” he said.

Following heated arguments for and against the amendment, parliament voted to accept the bill after 29 members in attendance voted for, 13 voted against, and 6 abstained.

The proposed amendment asks for Article 10 to be included as the first point in Article 262(b) of the Constitution of the Maldives.

Article 10 states that “(a) The religion of the State of the Maldives is Islam. Islam shall be the one of the basis of all the laws of the Maldives” and “(b) No law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives”.

Article 262 (b) states that the president must accept any constitutional amendments made by the Majlis after a public referendum.

“Even if one citizen does not want to allow other religions, it must remain so”: MP Amir

“The rhetoric that this bill calls for a public referendum where citizens are to be asked whether or not they want Islam to be here is, I believe, a further attempt to create resentment and dishearten people through misinformation,” he alleged.

“The best way that an amendment like this can be framed, even I believe, is to ensure that once it is reviewed in committee stage, it comes out in such a way that this article is made strong enough to not allow any changes to it at all as long as there is even one single citizen in the country who wishes it to remain the same, without allowing other religions,” he continued.

“Even we are aware that it is not necessary to include Islam in this, our constitution. Islam itself has given us a divine law to follow. As long as we are abiding by this divine law, there is in reality no need for it to be included in our man-made laws,” Amir said.

“However, because there is a fear that such an article in our constitution may be tampered with, we are obligated to protect it,” he stated.

“Instead of a referendum, mandate Supreme Court approval”: MP Muhthalib

Some of the MPs stated that while they supported the intentions behind its submission, they would choose to bring ‘minor changes’ to the proposed implementation.

Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muhthalib stated that, “As things are in this world today, if even 50 people vote to say they want to adopt a religion other than Islam, foreign governments will back them up and soon start advocating for these people’s rights. They will then start harassing us. They will interfere with the internal matters of this country.”

“My suggestion is that instead of a public referendum, we change the amendment to read that such a change cannot be brought about unless it is passed by the parliament, then approved by the seven judges sitting on the Supreme Court bench, and after which it will still need to be ratified by the president,” he proposed.

“Then, god willing, there is no way that it can ever be changed. My wish is that the amendment is passed in such a way that neither Article 9 or 10 can ever be changed, even by any future parliament,” he said.

Article 9 concerns the qualifications for citizenship, which includes a clause stating that non-Muslims cannot become citizens of the Maldives.

Opposing the amendment

According to some other MPs, Article 10 of the Constitution cannot be amended or debated anywhere, including the parliament floor. Many added that they did not believe the article could be changed even after a public referendum.

Some MPs claimed that if the current parliament was to amend the article, there might be a time in the future when another composition of MPs decide to annul it altogether, insisting it was inadvisable to begin something that may lead to “serious unpredictable implications” in future.

MDP MP Ali Waheed was removed from the premises after he protested against the holding of a debate on the amendment, claiming “while there is life in this body, and I am sitting here in parliament, I will not allow such a debate to be carried out here.”

After initially taking up procedural points, he later stood in front of the speaker’s seat to express disapproval until the speaker ordered the Sergeant at Arms to remove him from the premises.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)