Restraining the President on the Parliament's whim is unacceptable: Abdul Raheem

Special Advisor to the President Abdul Raheem Abdulla has said that it is unacceptable for the Parliament to have powers to restrain a sitting President, effectively inhibiting him from conducting any work, on a whim.

Abdul Raheem said that democracy in the Maldives is now well-established. However, he said, democratic powers bestowed on the parliament to hold the President accountable must not be used to, what he described as, "hogtie the President" and prevent him from fulfilling his pledges to the citizenry. He emphasized the important role the parliament has in facilitating the fulfillment of Presidential pledges, and opined that the institution must not possess powers to inhibit the President from such actions.

"New laws need be enacted to bring development that people want, at the speed that they want. New changes need to be brought. New ways need to be found. We need to promote new ways of thinking," he said, speaking at last night's meeting with residents of Fuvahmulah.

"These things can only be achieved if the government gets a significant majority in parliament. It is rationally unacceptable that the presidential system allows the parliament to 'hogtie' a President. It is absolutely unacceptable that when they so wish, the Parliament can confine the President to a room and say, 'Yes, now don't come out of there', and that this is allowed by law. This cannot be allowed to remain so today when we consider our future," the Special Advisor said.

Abdul Raheem stated that when President Muizzu had assumed office last November 17, the State finances had been reduced to "just a shell". He commended the President for having worked with sincerity to fulfill his pledges even when faced with such daunting challenges.

As evidence of this, he said that the President would not have presented the councils and other offices with copies of the book of his campaign speeches - a written record of his every pledge - unless he had every intention of standing by his words and working to achieve them.

Abdul Raheem further noted the importance of granting persons the opportunity to fulfill their work once responsibilities are placed on them. He said that the most key way of providing the President with this opportunity at the moment is to win a notable majority for the government parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

While admitting that a competitive opposition party plays an important role in a democracy, Abdul Raheem noted that it is crucial that said opposition is a responsible entity who works within the framework of the laws and regulations.