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Maldives It all started when 61 members of President Gayoom’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) submitted a petition requesting a review of the agenda for the 69th session, and failed to turn up for the session. The lack of quorum has become an issue of much concern. A number of meetings have been cancelled or adjourned due to lack of quorum. Monday’s session was also cancelled as the president of the Special Majlis was compelled to call in the Administrative Committee of the Special Majlis to reconsider the agenda which included an amendment to change the composition of the Special Majlis. The amendment seeks to remove all 29 unelected members and bring the number of members to 84 from the present 113. Twenty-seven of the 29 appointed members and 34 of the 84 elected members in the Special Majlis had signed the petition asking to withdraw this item from the agenda. A disgruntled Special Majlis member, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said the issue is not simply about eliminating non-elected members from the Special Majlis. “The real issue is fear of possible impeachment! The idea of that happening, however far-fetched it is, is already giving President Gayoom the goosebumps! He’s getting shivers up his spine! For an impeachment motion to be brought in, it needs the support of a third of the Majlis (parliament), that is the support of 17 members (in the 50-member Majlis). If the eight presidential appointees to the Majlis are removed, the votes required will fall to 14. A two-third majority will still be necessary for an impeachment motion to be passed… and that’s not very likely to happen. It’s simply fear of such a motion even being initiated that has led to this petition,” he said. The proposed amendment is one included in President Gayoom’s reform agenda first unveiled on June 9, 2004, and later proposed by him to the Peoples Special Majlis which he convened for Constitutional reform. It calls for the removal of all 29 unelected members from the 113-member Special Majlis, 16 Presidential appointees and 13 Cabinet Ministers; and the removal of 8 Presidential appointees from the 50-member People’s Majlis (Parliament). Chair
of the Administrative Committee, Aneesa Ahmed, who is an elected
MP and a Minister in President Gayoom’s government was among
the 61 petitioners. She says the main reason for objecting to the
agenda item is that “rules of procedure of the Special Majlis
do not permit individual articles to be addressed before the main
features of the Constitution are agreed upon”. Noting that 27 of the 61 members who signed the petition are directly affected by this motion, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) President Mr. Ibrahim Ismail who is also an elected MP says, “It is very obvious that President Gayoom is trying to wield undue influence on the Special Majlis through DRP members.” “Quorum-willing,” the Special Majlis will resume next week, as rules do not permit the Special Majlis to adjourn for more than 10 days. But, a meeting of the Administrative Committee held on Monday night failed to reach an agreement on the petition and a meeting of the Committee scheduled for Thursday afternoon was cancelled for unknown reasons. Amidst all the controversy, and the finger-pointing and mistrust, it’s a tall task that awaits Special Envoy Tan Sri Musa Hitham, and Tan Sri Anver when they fly in to the Maldives on Sunday. (The writer is editor of Adduvas Weekly, a Maldivian publication) |
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