Amendment Bill to Prison and Parole Act ratified

The Bill on Amendment to the Prison and Parole Act, which disqualifies former President Mohamed Nasheed as the President of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has been ratified by President Abdulla Yameen.

Following ratification, the bill has been published on the Government Gazette.

This bill when first proposed by the government, stated that a person executing a prison sentence cannot be a member of a political party.

This was passed by the parliament, but not ratified. The President sent the bill back to the parliament for reconsideration.

The clause was later changed to state that a person executing a prison sentence cannot be part of the leadership of a political party.

The government has maintained that the purpose of the bill was not to disqualify Nasheed as the President of MDP.

Gemanafushi MP Jameel Usman, who submitted the bill to the parliament on behalf of the government, said that the bill contains many amendments aimed at protecting the rights of prisoners and arrestees.