Independent candidate who contested for Galolhu North constituency. Hamza Khaleel, late Saturday resolved that his campaign efforts to advocate for the implementation of an MP Recall Act would continue despite having lost in the parliamentary elections.
Hamza, a lawyer and long-time advocate for human rights and environmental preservation efforts, as part of his campaign initiated a petition on March 3. The petition seeks to grant members of a respective constituency the power to hold a vote of no-confidence against their elected parliament representatives.
Since then the petition had gained traction, reportedly attracting numerous inquiries from across the country, seeking copies of the petition.
The petition calls for a public no-confidence vote to be held against an MP in the event that a request bearing signatories from two-thirds of constituents is submitted to the Elections Commission (EC).
Moreover, the petition further advocates that each parliamentarian publicise independently audited asset declarations on an annual basis, following election to parliament.
It is in a bid to grant empowerment to constituents to hold their lawmaking representatives accountable, modelled after the United Kingdom’s Recall of MPs Act 2015.
Hamza had previously stated his belief that the people should have the power to remove MPs that fail to attend sessions and work against the best interest of the constituency. He also declared that an MP should not be allowed to sit in parliament after losing constituents’ support.
He stated of the continued efforts, “‘Aharamen Campaign’ (translating to ‘our campaign’) will continue advocating for the MP Recall Act… I shall continue to work with the constituents via Aharamen mobile app as well.”
Following the results of the elections, Hamza congratulated constituency winner MP Eva Abdulla, who was elected for another term in the parliament. He expressed hope that the parliamentarian will work closely with the constituents in the next five years of her tenure.
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