The bill, submitted by ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) MP for Holhudhoo, Abdul Sattar Mohamed, was approved with 68 votes in favour and nine votes against.
Parliament has passed an amendment to the Judicature Act, reducing the number of Supreme Court judges from seven to five.
The bill, submitted by ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) MP for Holhudhoo, Abdul Sattar Mohamed, was approved with 68 votes in favour and nine votes against.
The vote was conducted by roll call due to a technical issue with the voting system, according to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.
PNC had issued a three-line whip in support of the bill, but some members did not participate, including Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azan and Huraa MP Dr Anara Naeem.
Azan also abstained from a previous vote on the bill and was subsequently removed from the PNC parliamentary group’s WhatsApp group.
PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those who went against the whip.
During the debate, only three PNC members, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau, and Mahibadhoo MP Ahmed Thoriq debated on the bill from PNC.
Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs strongly opposed the amendment, arguing that changing the composition of the Supreme Court while it is hearing a case involving MPs amounts to political interference.
Following the vote, Parliament’s Counsel General, Fathimath Filza, advised that altering the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in a way that forces judges to be declared incompetent and removed would be unfair.
Filza noted that while the Constitution does not specify a fixed number of Supreme Court judges, reducing the number from seven to five would require the removal of sitting judges, which she said was not the fairest approach.
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