No early election before amending Constitution: Shifag

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary Group Member, Fuvahmulah Medhu MP Shifag Mufeed has sad that an early election cannot be held without amending the Constitution.

Speaking on the point of order raised by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed today, where he condemned Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s call for an early election and an independent investigation of the transfer of power on 7 February, which he claimed was an attempt by Commonwealth to influence the government of Maldives and also against the spirit of the Constitution of Maldives; Shifag said that CMAG’s report contains several points of concern.

While most members of MDP have called for an early election without amending the Constitution, Shifag said that a full five year term cannot be achieved after the election if the Constitution is not amended:

“The Commonwealth report contains some points of concern. We should go for an early election. But what MDP wants is to have a full five year term after the election. I think all political parties would agree on this. In that case, we cannot hold an early election without amending the Constitution.”

Shifag noted that changes have to be made to article 125 (c) of the Constitution, which describes holding an election in the event of the post of President and Vice President becoming vacant. This amendment to the Constitution cannot be made before taking a public vote to determine that it is backed by public support. He suggested to the Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Shahid that the Parliament should work on putting together a report to inform Commonwealth of the procedure which must be followed to hold an early election:

“To amend the Constitution, we have to take a public vote. One thing we have to think about here at the Parliament is, whether this can be achieved within the timeframe mentioned by Commonwealth. I suggest that the Parliament sends a report to CMAG, to inform them that in order to hold an early election, the Constitution has to be amended; to inform them of the political parties’ opinion on this issue; and to inform them that a public vote has to be taken to find out if Maldivians support amending the Constitution.”

He further said that Maldivians still have several unanswered questions regarding how the government was toppled. He stressed that the leading political parties, including MDP, must cooperate with one another to investigate the incidents in order to obtain answers.

“Maldivians deserve to have these questions answered. We have to investigate how the power was transferred. At the same time, we have to investigate the brutal and sad events of 8 February. But this cannot be done without the cooperation of leading political parties, especially the influential ones. I don’t see the bigger parties, including MDP, cooperating in these efforts,” Shifag said.