Tag: parliament

Parliament rejects two of three cabinet ministers submitted for approval

Parliament has narrowly voted to reject the appointments of two of President Waheed’s cabinet ministers submitted to the chamber for approval.

Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim was approved by 33 votes in favour to 32 against, with one MP abstaining.

However Human Rights, Family and Gender Minster Azima Shukoor was rejected 33 votes against to 31 in favour, with no abstention, while her replacement as Attorney General, Aishath Bisham, was rejected 32-32, with Speaker Abdulla Shahid casting the deciding vote not to approve her appointment.

Waheed subsequently re-appointed Shukoor as Attorney General.

Ministers appointed by the President are required to be formally approved by parliament, However unlike no-confidence motions, parliament’s failure to approve cabinet ministers has not always led to their departure from office.

During the first few years of former President Nasheed’s administration, the then-opposition dominated parliament repeatedly voted to dismiss cabinet ministers submitted for approval.

On several occasions Nasheed immediately reappointed these ministers and again submitted their names for approval, with those individuals continuing in their posts undisrupted.

In mid-2010, following a tense political standoff between the Nasheed administration and members of the former dictatorship whom he had attempted to arrest on charges of corruption, Nasheed’s ministers resigned en-masse in a protest against what they contended were the “scorched earth politics” of the opposition-dominated parliament.

At the time parliament had levelled successive no-confidence motions against Nasheed’s ministers, and Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had accused these members of the opposition of attempting to buy the votes of six of its MPs to secure the two-thirds majority needed to impeach the new president.

With parliamentary regulation preventing the arrest of MPs while no-confidence motions against ministers were pending, Nasheed’s ministers suddenly resigned en-masse in protest over what they contended were the “scorched earth politics” of the opposition-dominated parliament.

The half-brother of former President Gayoom – Abdulla Yameen, currently the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM)’s presidential candidate – and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim – also a current presidential candidate – were arrested and detained by police on charges of bribery, treason, and “attempting to topple the government illegally”.

Yameen was defended in court by Azima Shukoor – whose appointment was today rejected – while Gasim was defended by Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leader and current Special Advisor to President Waheed, Dr Hassan Saeed.

The Criminal Court, which had opened in the early hours of the morning to hear the cases shortly after Yameen and Gasim were detained, declared their arrests unlawful and ordered their release.

Later in 2010, after three weeks of political stalemate, parliament called an approval vote for all Nasheed’s ministers who had resigned in protest against its disruption of government.

Seven of Nasheed’s 12 ministers – Finance Minister Ali Hashim, Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy, Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi, Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, Defence Minister Ameen Faisal and Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad – were dismissed after the MDP boycotted the vote in protest.

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Parliament accepts bill on inclusion of women’s committee chair in island council

Parliament on Monday (June 26) accepted an amendment proposed to the Decentralisation Act by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam to reserve a seat on island councils for the chair of women’s development committees.

The bill was accepted with 38 votes in favour and sent to committee for further review.

During the preliminary debate, most MPs supported the proposal in principle while others argued against affirmative action on the basis of gender.

Elections for women’s development committees to function under island and city councils took place in November 2012 in 102 islands.

Under article 36 of the landmark Decentralisation Act (Dhivehi), the powers and responsibilities of women’s committees are: (a) Advise island council on matters related to island development and municipal services provided by the council; (b) Own properties and conduct business activities with others in the name of the committee; (c) Sue and be sued in the name of the committee; (d) Conduct various activities for income generation and for the development of women; (e) Work to uphold the rights of women; (f) Work to increase religious awareness amongst women; (g) Work to increase political participation of women; (h) Work to increase the numbers of women enrolled in higher  education; (i) Work to improve the health condition of women; (j) Gather important information related to women; (k) Manage assets and finance of the committee.

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Parliament rejects bill proposing enforcement of death penalty by hanging

Additional reporting by Neil Merrett

Parliament on Monday rejected 26-18 with no abstentions a bill proposed by government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed to implement the death penalty by hanging.

The death penalty legislation was put to a vote to decide whether or not to proceed with the bill at committee stage.

Presenting the bill at a sitting earlier this month, the MP for Vilufushi said the legislation proposed implementing the death penalty by hanging if the Supreme Court upheld a death sentence passed by a lower court.

He contended that the death penalty would act as an effective deterrent to the increasing rate of premeditated murders in the Maldives.

MP Riyaz was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed reportedly said he “will not vote to kill someone” at a time when the judiciary did not inspire public confidence.

“In reality, there are a lot of things I want to consider before I cast a vote that will allow a Maldivian citizen to be executed. Islam has determined penalties for certain reasons, to protect certain things. To protect property, life, religion, lineage and dignity. I don’t want a person to die because of a vote that I cast in favour of a law that does not protect these things,” the former MDP MP was quoted as saying by Sun Online.

The MDP meanwhile said today that there had been a “strong understanding”  among the party’s MPs participating in the vote to dismiss the bill.

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said the party’s parliamentary group had opted to throw out the bill on the grounds that it would be “irresponsible” to approve such measures with ongoing concerns held by itself and independent experts over the functioning of the country’s judiciary.

Ghafoor additionally criticised the proposed bill as being irrelevant, arguing that the country’s draft penal code – a recent issue of contention between MPs and certain political parties – already included provisions for the death sentence as outlined under Islamic Sharia.

He said that with the implementation of the death penalty in the Maldives being a sensitive issue, some party MPs and politicians had preferred not to attend yesterday’s vote. Ghafoor said the vote highlighted the difficulties in the country of voting over issues requiring religious understanding.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) said no whip line has been established for yesterday’s vote, which was attended by only a limited number of its parliamentary group.

“Most of the PPM’s MPs were not in Male’, but at campaign locations [at the time],” the spokesperson claimed.

Implementation debate

The last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, who was executed by firing squad in 1953 after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.

Statistics show that from January 2001 to December 2010, a total of 14 people were sentenced to death by Maldivian courts.

However, in all cases, the acting president commuted these verdicts to life sentences.

In October 2012, the government announced its intention to introduce a bill to the People’s Majlis in order to guide and govern the implementation of the death penalty in the country.

As well as the bill proposed by MP Riyaz, in December 2012, former Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor drafted a bill outlining how the death sentence should be executed in the Maldives, with lethal injection being identified as the state’s preferred method of capital punishment

The Attorney General’s Office at the time said that it had looked to procedures followed by Egypt, Malaysia and the US in carrying out the death sentence, while also obtaining the opinions of religious scholars and lawyers when drafting the bill.

Minivan News understands that the bill submitted by the former AG remains open for comments on potential amendments.

The state’s stance to review implementation of death sentences has led to strong criticism from certain human rights-focused NGOs this year.

Speaking to Minivan News immediately following a visit to the Maldives in April 2013, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director Polly Truscott raised concerns about the recent drafting of new bills outlining implementation for executions.

She argued that even in practice, such bills would be deemed as a human rights violation, with the NGO maintaining that there remained no research to support the assertion that executing criminals served as an effective deterrent for serious crimes.

Truscott said that with the draft Penal Code also including provisions that would leave applying the death sentence to the discretion of an individual judge, the whole purpose of codifying laws would be undermined should the bill be passed.

She noted this was a particular concern considering the recent findings of various international experts such as  UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Judiciary, Gabriela Knaul, regarding the politicised nature of the country’s judicial system.

“To leave Sharia law to the discretion of individual judges is something we believe would be a bad idea,” she said at the time.

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LGA backs parliament decision to reinstate Miladhoo councillor

The Local Government Authority (LGA) has backed parliament’s decision last week to reinstate Noonu Atoll Miladhoo Island Councillor Nasrulla Mohamed after he was removed from the post through a resolution adopted by the council.

LGA member Ahmed Faisal told newspaper Haveeru that the LGA supports the parliament’s decision to reinstate the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) councillor as the authority believes Nasrulla was not dismissed in accordance with the rules or following due process.

He added that councillors can only be removed by the Elections Commission (EC) according to a Supreme Court ruling. While councils could vote to remove one of its members, Faisal said the decision would not be considered legal until the EC declared a seat vacant.

Nasrulla was dismissed after he allegedly did not attend seven consecutive council meetings, which is cause for removal according to the law. The LGA however did not accept the council’s decision and informed it to reinstate Nasrulla and pay him wages.

The LGA was set up by the landmark Decentralisation Act of 2010 as a parent body tasked with overseeing local councils and coordinating with the government.

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MDP MP Ali Waheed calls to exhume body of murdered MP Afrasheem, conduct post-mortem

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Deputy Parliament Group Leader MP Ali Waheed has called on the state to exhume the body of murdered scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in order to conduct a post mortem.

Referring to the MP’s murder last year as the “most serious crime ever committed in the Maldives”, Waheed said that various allegations and rumours were being spread to create confusion and suspicion in society about the case.

He said that these allegations had prominently focused on the involvement of certain senior politicians in the crime, including the MDP’s own Chairperson MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and PPM presidential candidate, MP Abdullah Yameen.

Waheed stated that it was therefore of utmost importance to conduct a post mortem in order to bring an end to this speculation and allegations over the case, while ascertaining the facts around Dr Afrasheem’s murder.

Prior to Waheed’s comments, MDP Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik also spoke of the importance of clarifying facts regarding Afrasheem’s murder.

Echoing comments previously raised by former President Mohamed Nasheed at a party rally, Moosa spoke of the need to verify if there was any truth in information that individuals suspected of involvement in the murder had fled the country on the day of the attack.

He further questioned why street surveillance cameras installed by the police had not been in operation on the night of the murder.

MDP MP Mohamed Riyaz also spoke of the allegations that Sudanese nationals may have had involvement in the crime, while stressing the importance of verifying the truth behind claims that Afrasheem had been summoned to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs shortly before his murder.

PPM MP Ahmed Nihan was not responding to calls today from Minivan News today. Meanwhile, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, Parliamentary Group Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), said he was unavailable for comment at time of press.

Background

Maldives Police Services announced in October 2012 that the FBI were extending assistance in the investigation of the MPs murder.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz later stated in a press conference held in December 2012 that the murder of Afrasheem had been carried out with a political motive, and that the culprits were to be paid MVR 4 million (US$ 260,000).

Riyaz had at the time dismissed claims that the murder was linked to religious fundamentalists, stating “no evidence has been gathered which suggests this murder had a religious motive.”

The main murder suspect identified by the police investigation into the attack, Hussain Humam, initially denied charges. He later confessed to the crime at a hearing held in May.

At the hearing, state prosecutors read out a statement which was said to have been given by Humam at one of the initial hearings. The statement claimed that son-in-law of ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid, had offered to pay him MVR 4 million for the murder of MP Afrasheem.

In the last hearing held in early June, Humam once again retracted his confession, claiming that he had been coerced into confession by police.

Humam’s father has also written to the Criminal Court and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives alleging police of conducting psychological abuse against the suspect and exerting coercion to confess to a crime he did not commit.

Religious scholar and MP Dr. Afrasheem Ali was found brutally murdered in the early hours of October 2, 2012 and was buried at a state funeral after Asr prayers on the same day.

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CSC Chair Fahmy will not resign from post “out of fear”

Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chair Mohamed Fahmy Hassan has said he will only resign from his post when the time is right and not as a result of intimidation or fear, dismissing a parliamentary no-confidence vote passed against him last year.

Speaking in local media this week, the CSC chair contended that he remained in his post legally with the backing of President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

Parliament voted to dismiss Fahmy from his CSC post in November 2012 in a no-confidence vote following an inquiry by the Independent Institutions Committee into allegations he sexually harassed a CSC employee.

Both Fahmy and the alleged victim were summoned to the committee after the complaint was lodged in the first week of June.

Fahmy was alleged to have called the female staff member over to him, before asking her to take his hand and stand in front of him so that others in the office could not see, and caressed her stomach. He was than accused of saying, “It won’t do for a beautiful single woman like you to get fat.”

MPs voted 38-32 to approve the committee’s recommendation to remove Fahmy from the post.

However, in March this year, the Supreme Court ruled that parliament’s decision to remove him from the CSC was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court declared by a 6-1 majority that Fahmy would receive two punishments for the same crime if he was convicted in court following his dismissal by parliament (double jeopardy).

The apex court contended that the Independent Institutions Committee violated due process and principles of criminal justice procedure in dealing with the accused.

In an interview to local media outlet Channel News Maldives (CNM) today, Fahmy referred to the Supreme Court decision that overruled his parliamentary impeachment, saying it was everyone’s responsibility to uphold Court rulings.

“Everyone will have to uphold the rule of law and the decisions made by the courts of law. Whether it is the president or me or anybody, it has to be that way,” he was quoted as saying.

Fahmy also said that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan himself has shown his support for him remaining as the CSC Chair by asking him to make a decision on his own capacity.

Fahmy had previously stated that he would only make a decision on whether to continue being part of CSC after President Waheed made a decision on the issue, noting that it was the president who had given him the letter of appointment.

President Waheed speaking on the issue to local media previously said it was “very complicated” for him to make a decision about Fahmy and suggested that it “would be best” for Fahmy to decide on his own.

Waheed said that two state powers, the legislature and the judiciary were in dispute over the matter and at such a complicated time, “Even individuals must help in resolving conflicts peacefully”.

“Always doing something that puts the President or the government in a trap is not a very good thing. I think the best thing to do at this time is let Fahmy take the initiative and decide on the matter. That is my position,” he said.

However, both former Attorney General Azima Shukoor and her successor Aishath Bisham have told media that President Waheed was advised against reinstating Fahmy in the post.

Both attorneys general argued that despite the Supreme Court ruling that Fahmy’s removal by parliament was unconstitutional, the apex court had not ordered his reinstatement.

Speaker’s warnings

Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid sent out a strong warning to Chair of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Adam Mohamed informing the Supreme Court Justice that he would boycott the commission’s meetings should Fahmy continue to attend meetings of the judicial oversight commission.

Shahid’s warning came shortly after Attorney General Aishath Bisham conceded during a meeting with Parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) that any JSC meetings with Fahmy present would not be legally valid.

In response to a question by the committee chair, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed, Bisham insisted that Mohamed Fahmy Hassan would not have to be reinstated.

In a letter sent at the time, Speaker of Parliament Shahid – who is an ex-officio member of JSC – stressed that even though the chair of CSC is also by virtue of his position a member of JSC, Fahmy cannot sit on commission because he had been dismissed from his position by parliament.

He added the parliament had informed President Waheed about its decision.

“In that letter, when the parliament came to the decision [to remove Fahmy], then-Attorney General Aishath Azima Shukoor and current Attorney General Aishath Bisham stated that Mohamed Fahmy Hassan could not sit in JSC as the President of CSC as that position had become vacant with the parliament’s decision.”

“The Attorney General Aishath Bisham had also said that JSC meetings attended by Fahmy cannot be deemed legal, during the 46th committee meeting of parliament’s executive oversight committee on June 4, 2013,” Shahid wrote.

Therefore, Shahid said he would not take part in any meetings attended by Fahmy.

The parliament has meanwhile invited interested candidates to apply for the “vacant” position of CSC President.

President Waheed however maintained that, prior to any appointments to the commission, the parliament should discuss the matter with the Supreme Court to avoid any further conflict.

Fahmy was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

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Parliament announces five MPs’ change of parties

Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid announced at today’s sitting of the People’s Majlis that five MPs have officially informed the secretariat of their recent change of political parties.

The movement of MPs included Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim from the People’s Alliance (PA) to the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), MPs Ahmed Shareef Adam and Ahmed Moosa from PPM to President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP), and MP Ali Azim from the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

DRP MP Ali Saleem meanwhile left the party to become an Independent MP.

Following the changes, the majority party MDP currently has 33 seats, minority party PPM has 20 seats, the DRP has 11 seats, the Jumhooree Party (JP) has three seats, and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has one seat.

There are currently nine independent MPs of the 77 elected to parliament in May 2009. The two MPs who recently joined President Waheed’s GIP along with MP Ibrahim Muttalib of the Adhaalath Party as well as two MPs of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) are considered independents under the parliamentary rules as no candidate has been elected to parliament on either an Adhaalath, MDA or GIP ticket.

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Parliament overrides presidential veto on sole traders bill

Parliament today passed a bill on sole traders, which was previously vetoed by President Dr Mohamed Waheed, with the unanimous consent of all 53 MPs participating in the vote.

Under article 91(b) of the constitution, a bill returned for reconsideration and passed by a majority of total membership of parliament has to be “assented by the President and published in the government gazette.”

MPs also voted unanimously to pass a bill on arbitration at today’s sitting of the People’s Majlis.

Both pieces of legislation were submitted in late 2011 under the economic reform package of the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government. The arbitration bill proposes the introduction of alternative dispute resolution in the Maldives.

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Government defies parliament vote, moves Immigration under Defence Ministry

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has decided to defy parliament’s decision to not endorse the transfer of the Immigration Department to the Ministry of Defence, and make the change without parliament’s consent.

The government of President Waheed on Tuesday sought parliament’s approval to move Immigration department, National Disaster Management Centre and Aviation Security Command under the Defence Ministry led by Minister of Defense, retired Colonel Mohamed Nazim.

However, the parliament by a majority of 27 to 23 votes decided to disapprove the departmental shuffling.

During the debate on the request by the President’s Office to endorse the changes to the defence ministry’s mandate, MP Mohamed Rasheed of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) proposed a motion against approving the changes.

The motion against approving the changes was passed after four MPs from the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), including its presidential candidate Yameen Abdul Gayoom, backed the MDP’s motion.

Other PPM MPs who voted with the opposition include MP Ahmed Mahloof, MP Mujthaaz Fahmy and MP Ibrahim Riza.

The article 116 of the constitution states that the President – despite having the discretionary power determine the jurisdiction of the ministries – is required to submit all information relating to the ministries and their areas of jurisdiction to the parliament for its approval.

In December 2012, the responsibility for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Emigration was switched to the Ministry of Defence and National Security. The President’s Office claimed the decision to move the department under the mandate of Defence Ministry was made in a bid to make administration of the country’s immigration system more efficient.

President Waheed on Wednesday decided to make the change anyway despite parliament’s objection, with the result that approval will again be sought via parliamentary vote.

Following parliament’s decision, Attorney General Aishath Bisham told local news outlet CNM that despite parliament’s disapproval, the Department of Immigration and Emigration can still operate under the watch of the Defence Minister.

According to Bisham, the president has the power to transfer the department to any ministry under section 35 of the Immigration Act. However, Bisham said the president had sent the matter to parliament to adhere to the requirement stated in article 116 of the constitution which requires parliamentary approval for changes in mandates of cabinet portfolios.

Bisham also said that the government would again resubmit the matter to parliament concerning the transfer of Disaster Management Centre and Aviation Security Command to the Defence Ministry.

Speaking to Minivan News, opposition MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy – who is also a member of parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) – alleged President Waheed was undermining the constitution and the laws of the country by attempting to militarise state institutions.

“The constitution clearly states that any changes brought to the mandate of a government ministry must be approved by the parliament. If the president can do whatever he wishes to do, why is it in the constitution stated that such decisions require parliamentary approval?” Fahmy questioned.

Fahmy claimed that any decision disapproved by parliament would be deemed invalid and therefore could not be considered to have legal effect.

“The reason to obtain parliamentary approval for such decisions is to have proper accountability. It is the duty of the parliament to hold the government accountable,” Fahmy added.

The Immigration Department has come under heavy fire from the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) – the independent institution responsible for prevention of corruption and corrupt practices – over alleged corrupt activities including the signing of establishing a border control system with Malaysian mobile security provider Nexbis.

The ACC have taken the matter to Parliament’s Finance Committee claiming that the deal with Nexbis will cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.

The former Controller of Immigration Sheikh Ilyas Hussain – brother-in-law of President Waheed – stands accused of corruption charges over the Nexbis deal. The trial of Illyas Hussain is currently being heard at the Criminal Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ilyas is accused of omitting from the concession agreement clauses that required Nexbis to provide 29 scholarships and 200,000 identity cards free of charge. The clauses were in the original technical proposal submitted by Nexbis to the tender evaluation board.

If convicted, the state minister could face either a jail term of up to three years, banishment or house arrest.

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