The Maldives parliament approved Thursday to accept the resolution seeking thee removal of Thulusdhoo constituency lawmaker Mohamed "Wadde" Waheed Ibrahim from the Clemency Board, and forward the resolution to the national security committee.
Presented to the parliament by lawmaker of Kelaa Constituency Ali Arif, this resolution was accepted with a majority of 43 votes. While 25 lawmakers voted against the decision, one stayed null.
The Clemency Board, formed under the direction of the Clemency Act, consists of 11 members appointed by the President. Among the members of Judiciary, Religious Scholars, Health, Education, representative of Civil Society, Parole Board and an official of Maldives Police Service, Waheed was the only representative of Legislature. The constitutional power of the board is to give advice to the president on giving clemency for the detainees.
In the resolution proposed, MP Arif accused MP Waheed of not fulfilling his obligations as a member of the board properly. Hence the parliament was not being represented appropriately in the board, he declared.
In the midst of the ongoing dispute between former president and leader of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, and his half brother and incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom which has split PPM into two factions, Waheed remains a firm supporter of the former.
Many including Waheed believe that the hidden motive behind the resolution is to remove an opposing opinion from the board.
“This is the result of expressing the truth. If something is happening wrong, I will remain to be the first person to stand against it. All they [President Yameen's faction of PPM] can do is frame me and remove me from this seat,” said Waheed.
The final decision on the resolution will be taken after the review by the parliament's national security committee.
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