Parliament regulation to face new amendment to incorporate secret voting

A new amendment have been proposed to the parliament regulation, seeking to specify instances where the parliament can close off its sessions from the public and exercise secret voting.

The amendment was proposed to the Parliament General Purpose Committee by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group member and Thulhaadhoo MP Nazim Rashaad.

The amendment to proposes changes to Article 34 (a) of the Parliament regulation, to state that the sessions where a vote of no-confidence against the President shall be closed off from the public, and that the voting itself shall be conducted in secret.

Article 34 of the parliament regulation specifies instances when a parliament’s session may be closed off from the public. It also states the instances when secret voting maybe conducted in parliament.

Chair of today’s General Purposes Committee meeting Maafannu-west MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem said that the committee will discuss and ask from a vote on the matter in the committee’s next meeting.

The government coalition holds a majority in the General Purposes Committee, consisting of four MPs from the opposition MDP, three MPs from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), two members from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), one MP from Jumhoory Party (JP) and one independent MP.

Supreme Court issued a ruling on the 14th of last month stating that the amendment to the parliament regulation to establish secret voting, which was passed by the parliament earlier, was in contradiction to the constitution and therefore invalid.