Amendments to be filed to cap the number of political posts

Opposition parties – MDP and The Democrats – have announced that they are prepared to submit amendments to laws to limit the number of police appointees in the government.

In a joint press conference held on Wednesday, the parties announced their decision to collaborate on the parliament front to hold the government accountable.

Speaking at the press conference, The Democrats’ leader Hassan Latheef emphasized the high number of political appointees being appointed to posts in the current administration.

“Especially, the increase in the appointment of state ministers, deputy ministers and individuals on these levels in comparison to the Maldivian economy is something we view as a huge concern,” he said.

In light of this, he said both parties have decided to bring the necessary amendments to the Maldivian constitution and other laws which would pave the way to limit the number of political appointees. 

Speaking further, Hassan Latheef said the existing laws has led to the number of parliament seats increasing beyond a number acceptable to both parties. In this trajectory, he said both parties believe that it is important to maintain the same number of parliamentary seats throughout.

“This means capping the number of the parliament members. Amending the he constitution this way instead the current policy dictating the inclusion of a new seat for every 5,000 people added to the population,” he said.

The number of state and deputy ministerial level appointees in President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has exceeded 150 prompting critique from opposition parties and the public.

Undersecretary for Public Policy at the President’s Office Mohamed Firuzul Abdulla Khaleel has previously remarked the President Muizzu has decided to cap the number of political appointees in his administration at 700.

Although bills have previously been submitted to the parliament, seeking to limit the number of parliament members as the increase in the number of members has led to increased expenditure, none of them have been approved.

In the 17th parliament, there were 77 members. In the 18th parliament, there were 86 members; the ongoing 19th parliament has 85 members. The 20th parliament for which elections are slated for March will have 91 members.