Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Aslam has announced that various members have withdrawn a number of amendments that were earlier submitted by them.
Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Aslam has announced that various members have withdrawn a number of amendments that were earlier submitted by them.
Among these, MP for West Henveiru constituency, Hassan Latheef of The Democrats, has yesterday withdrawn the amendment seeking to allow constituents to remove MPs through a dedicated vote amongst them.
Meanwhile, an Anti Defection Act has been ratified by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu after it was submitted to parliament by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party and passed with heavy edits.
However, the constitutional amendments proposed by Latheef to Article 73 of the Constitution details five circumstances under which MPs will lose their seats. These are:
- A member, through their own initiative, leaves or switches parties from the party through which they were originally elected
- An independently elected member joins a party
- Dismissal of a member according to the Party's Regulations if they vote against a party whip
- If a member is dismissed from a party for reasons unrelated to a parliamentary vote, constituents, through winning majority in a referendum, decide to remove the MP from their position
- If a determined percentage of constituents submit a petition seeking the MP's removal, removing them through winning majority in a referendum within constituents
Currently, there is no constitutional provision for the removal of a member of Parliament who serves a five-year term. MPs are the only positions for which the Constitution does not state principles for removal from office.
The Constitution outlines the circumstances in which a member of parliament may be dismissed. These include the failure to pay a debt and a criminal conviction of more than 12 months.
The amendment proposed to incorporate provisions for the removal of MPs into the Constitution. However, this has now been withdrawn.
Additionally, Central Henveiru constituency MP Hussain Shaheem has also withdrawn an amendment he proposed, this one relating to the the determination of total number of parliamentarians.
Holhudhoo MP Yoonus Ali retracted his proposed amendment as well, regarding the authorization of the parliament to appoint members to the Elections Commission.
The 19th Peoples' Majlis will hold its final sitting on next Monday.
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