Gasim defends establishment of secret voting

Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim has spoken in defence of the establishment of secret voting for no-confidence motions against the President, Vice President, Ministers and Members of Independent Institutions.

Gasim voted in favour of the motion to establish secret voting.

Talking at the VTV Fasmanzaru program last night, Gasim said that considering the current political atmosphere, the establishment of secret voting is something that is necessary and that for various reasons, people in the government have always been against this amendment. He said that their purpose is to illegally abuse power while in office.

“The only way the Members elected by the people will get the protection necessary to advocate for their people is by making these votes secret. If we look at the basics, they don’t want any regulations. They don’t even want a constitution or any rules either. They want to run things the way they want and this is the way they want to do it. They want to stay in power forever,” Gasim said.

He said that there are hidden agendas behind establishing the secret voting, and that if a Member votes for the removal of a person in the government, and if the motion fails to pass, the Member will consequently face a lot of hassle from the government.

He said that this will hinder the work the Parliament does to hold the government accountable and that the Members will have to work in an environment of fear.

He said that secret voting is conducted for all public elections, and that the Parliament Members should also be able to exercise secret voting when a motion is filed against the heads of government. He also said that this is the practice employed by Parliaments of other countries as well.

“The green constitution states that all elections that involve citizens’ votes should be decided through secret ballot. Even if it is to elect councillors, Members of Parliament, or even on public referendums the vote has to be secret,” said Gasim.

Rebutting the criticisms aimed at him for voting in favour of establishing secret voting, Gasim said that the only reason he supported the motion was because the current government tries to intimidate Members of Parliament.

Referring to the claims that his actions will aid MDP, Gasim said that MDP has nothing to gain from this motion and that these things are being said only because of the current political atmosphere.