Identities of political appointees withheld in line with Supreme Court ruling: Govt

President's Office said that their decision to not reveal the identities of the 248 political appointees who were dismissed as part of the government's cost cutting measures was in line with a Supreme Court ruling.

The initial decision to retrench 228 political appointees, as part of the administration's economic reform agenda, was announced by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on 15th October. Spokesperson of the President's Office Heena Waleed revealed later on that 248 political employees were laid off.

However, it was not revealed from which ministries the political appointees were from, nor were their identities revealed.

The President's Office said yesterday, in response to a Right to Information request by Mihaaru News, that the names of the dismissed employees are personal information guaranteed by Article 24 of the Constitution as stipulated in a Supreme Court judgment.

As such, the information cannot be released, the President's Office said.

The office further said that revealing the designations and from which ministries the employees were dismissed from may lead to the identities of the employees becoming apparent. The President's Office said that personal information of a third party cannot be disclosed without the party's consent.

Article 24 of the Constitution states that everyone's personal and family life, home and personal communications with others are private, and that everyone is to respect and observe these rights of others.

The President's Office said that a ruling was issued by the Supreme Court in accordance with the Constitution, blocking the identities and salaries of Bank of Maldives (BML) employees being revealed.

Referring to a judgement by the Indian Supreme Court, the Maldivian Supreme Court ruled at the time that employee information is personal information of a third part and that it cannot be released without their consent. The ruling further said that the information was not of public interest.

According to the Right to Information Act, if the release of a third party’s personal information is deemed necessary to maintain public interest, the information may be released to that extent for that reason without the third party’s consent.

Although the President's Office has withheld the information, some Ministries previously revealed the identities of political employees who were appointed to the respective ministries.

When Mihaaru News initially requested for the information from the President's Office, the office requested for a 14 day extension to provide a response. However, even after the extension expired, the office did not provide the information. A response was only provided yesterday via email after an appeal was scheduled at the President's Office.

According to previous information revealed by President Muizzu, seven State Ministers, 43 Deputy Ministers, 109 Senior Political Directors, and 69 Political Directors were laid off. With this downsizing, MVR 5.7 million would be saved monthly from the state budget, said President Muizzu at the time.

According to information shared with Mihaaru News by various government agencies, there are over 1,400 political appointees at present. While some ministries have refused to provide the exact number of political employees, the government previously said that the total number of political hires would not exceed 700.