Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed, on Tuesday night, asserted that he will hold discussions with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to adopt the Parliamentary democracy system, either for the 2023 presidential elections or shortly prior to that.
Answering questions at the ‘Ask Speaker’ programme held by Public Service Media (PSM) in collaboration with the Parliament, Nasheed did not delve into details about the matter, but asserted that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), currently under his presidency, will win any election held in Maldives.
During the programme, Nasheed highlighted the country’s record of jailing former Presidents, and expressed that he wanted the practice to come to an end.
Noting that punishment is due for crime, Nasheed asserted that he did not believe Maldivians will want any former leaders to be treated unjustly.
He said this in response to a question of when former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, currently serving a five-year sentence on money laundering charges, will be shifted under house arrest.
Nasheed went on to state that all of Maldives’ past leaders are both greatly admired and hated by different factions, and they must be treated as per the rules underlined in the Constitution.
Going on to describe the 30-year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former President and estranged brother of Yameen, as “terrifying and unjust”, he claimed that he didn’t spare Gayoom due to the ex-President’s lack of crimes but because he wanted to rule the right way and leave the injustice in the past.
Adding that the Presidents that came after him sought to jail former leaders, he stated that the culture of jailing political competition will not stop as long as it was perpetrated.
Nasheed and Gayoom has long been at loggerheads over the presidential vs parliamentary system debate, clashing on social media on a few occasions.
In August, Gayoom, who has long stood for the presidential system, noted that the majority of citizens had voted for the aforementioned system in the 2007 referendum vote.
However, soon after, his successor Nasheed lambasted Gayoom’s statement, accusing the former president of committing election fraud in every poll during his tenure including the 2007 referendum vote.
He stated that the only election which Gayoom had failed to turn in his favour was the 2008 presidential polls, the first democratic elections held in Maldives in which Nasheed ended Gayoom’s 30-year reign as president.
In contrast to Gayoom, Nasheed has firmly continued to advocate for a parliamentary system in Maldives, a stance supported by several senior members of MDP, which is presently the main member of the ruling coalition.
Nasheed’s participation in the Ask Speaker programme is likely the last formal appearance of the Speaker in 2020 as the Parliament went into recess on Tuesday.
A total of 15 bills were passed during the last session, the highlights of which include the Police Service bill, Education bill, as well as several amendments made to the Maldives Tourism Act.
Across the third session, the parliament also finalised the state budget for 2021, called in 17 cabinet ministers for questioning and saw eight cases submitted by the chambers, eight cases from the state and 14 others.
Presently, the Parliament is set to reconvene during the first week of February.
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