Parliament passes bills empowering President to appoint heads to ACC and EC

The Parliament on Monday passed legislature submitted by the government to empower the Maldivian President to appoint the heads of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Elections Commission (EC).

The government submitted two bills to empower the president to appoint presidents and vice presidents to both the ACC and the EC. The bill to amend the ACC Act was sponsored by Felidhoo MP Adam Zahir, while the bill to amend the EC Act was sponsored by Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef.

The Parliament took the floor vote on both bills on Monday afternoon.

Both bills passed with a majority vote of 69-10.

During the debate, lawmakers from the main ruling People’s National Congress, who hold a supermajority in the Parliament, had voiced support for the bills, especially with respect to the ACC. They said that ACC has repeatedly failed to properly investigate major acts of corruption.

However, lawmakers from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) accused the government of attempting to undermine the independence and autonomy of institutions such as the ACC and EC, and exerting influence over such institutions.

President and vice presidents of ACC and EC are currently elected with an internal vote taken among members of the respective commissions. And the results of the vote need to be submitted to the president and the Parliament within 28 hours.

But with the legislative changes, presidents and vice presidents of the two commissions will be nominated by the Maldivian President. The nominations will be vetted by the Parliament and will require parliamentary approval. Resignations of presidents and vice presidents of the commissions will also need to be submitted to the Maldivian President.