Minister Imran: Political stability will be lost if a parliamentary system is there

Home Minister Imran Abdulla, on Monday, has stated that political stability will be lost if the governing system of Maldives is changed to a parliamentary system.

Imran who also serves as the leader of government coalition Adhaalath Party has made the remark at a time Parliament Speaker, main ruling party, Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Leader Nasheed has submitted a resolution to MDP’s congress scheduled for 19^th of this month on holding a constitutional referendum to switch the governing system from a presidential system to a parliamentary system.

At a press conference held this morning, Nasheed had explained the timeline for his vision of changing the system of government in Maldives from a presidential to parliamentary system.

Nasheed said he wished to make necessary amendments to the Constitution and take a referendum on parliamentary system this year, and to have a transitional parliamentary system in place starting February next year.

Commenting on the matter, Minister Imran via tweet said that the parliamentary system is not the most suitable governance system for the Maldives. In this regard, he stressed that if the parliamentary system is brought to place as the current situation stands – political stability will be lost, whereas the government will change frequently.

Imran said that the only result of this would be division within the country and the people falling into crisis.

Nasheed, a firm believer if the parliamentary system, has previously initiated efforts to change the governing system of the Maldives to a parliamentary system. He states that he believes a parliamentary system is the most suitable governing system for the Maldives.

Meanwhile, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that the governance system can only be changed through a constitutional referendum.

The last time a constitutional referendum was held in the Maldives was back in 2007 – during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s administration. Back then, 92 percent of the voters favored a presidential system.