Opposition parties in the Maldives have mounted a legal challenge against constitutional amendments passed last week to expand executive powers and unseat lawmakers who cross the floor. The swift and unexpected changes entrenched President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s power and secured his position against any challenge from parliament.
On November 20, Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) flexed its 75-seat supermajority in the 93-member house to hastily insert new provisions into the constitution.
New conditions were imposed for disqualifying parliamentarians. Members of parliament elected on a political party ticket will lose their seat upon switching parties or following resignation or expulsion from their party, the amendments stated. Independent members will also forfeit their seat by joining a political party.
A new clause was also proposed to grant the authority to formulate national development plans solely to the president.
The government-sponsored legislation was submitted late on November 19, taken up by parliament the following morning and pushed through in less than nine hours. Muizzu ratified the bill on the same day.
The new anti-defection rules effectively allow parties to enforce their whip line with the threat of removal from office.
Opposition parties and civil society cried foul.
Local rights groups led by anti-corruption NGO Transparency Maldives expressed grave concern over “a marked absence of transparency in the unprecedented amendment process, inadequate procedural safeguard mechanisms, and the potential erosion of fundamental democratic principles.”
The groups condemned the lack of proper review, informed debate and public consultation in the rushed legislative process.
The anti-defection provisions “undermine the foundational democratic principle of representative choice and constrain the political independence of parliamentarians,” the civil society organizations warned.
To avoid losing their seats, lawmakers would be compelled to vote as instructed by their parties regardless of personal objections or the interests of constituents, the joint statement explained. “This centralization of control would weaken internal party democracy and effectively subordinate the autonomy of elected representatives,” it added.
The groups acknowledged longstanding concerns over floor crossing since the first multi-party parliamentary elections in 2009, but advocated instead for “strengthening the existing anti-corruption legal framework.”
Vesting the power to formulate national development policies solely with the president meanwhile undercuts the mandate of local councils to make development plans in close consultation with the public, the statement observed.
“This consolidation of authority within the executive branch contradicts fundamental democratic principles regarding separation of powers and represents a significant departure from established decentralization laws and efforts put in place by several administrations that have been instrumental in the nation’s emerging democratic development,” the statement read.
The NGOs urged respect for democratic norms, “particularly when it involves changes to the nation’s supreme legal document.”
Debate on the constitutional amendments took place amid protests by supporters of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) outside parliament. The demonstration grew heated when pro-government activists and political appointees arrived to stage a counterprotest. But riot police kept the rival protesters apart.
Inside parliament, the MDP’s dozen lawmakers protested in front of the speaker’s desk, holding up a banner that read, “Maldivians in defense of the Constitution.” But they were vastly outnumbered as the bill was passed with 78 votes in favor. The final tally was well above the 70-vote or three-quarters majority needed to amend the constitution.
Proposals by the MDP to conduct a consultation process and to hold public referendums on dismissing lawmakers were flatly rejected.
“It is sad to see the people’s representatives (PNC supermajority) applaud the demise of their own autonomy and free will — after amending the Constitution in under 9 hours on President [Muizzu’s] orders,” MDP member Meekail Naseem tweeted.
According to local media outlet Adhadhu, the sudden changes followed “rumors that some MPs from PNC were planning to leave the party after the High Court was petitioned to quash part of the Anti-Defection Act that requires MPs to resign for floor crossing.”
Referring to the law passed by the MDP supermajority in the previous parliament, Speaker Abdul Raheem from the PNC argued after the vote that enshrining anti-defection rules in the Constitution will ensure political stability by preventing lawmakers from shifting allegiances.
But legal experts were unconvinced. On November 24, former member of parliament Ali Hussain petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down the anti-defection rules as unconstitutional. The amendments conflict with constitutional provisions on fundamental rights and the functions and privileges of lawmakers, the lawyer argued.
The MDP and The Democrats have since joined the case as third parties. The amendments erode constitutional supremacy, deprive the people of their right to elect representatives, and violate basic democratic principles and legislative precedents, the MDP declared.
The apex court decided today (November 27) to hear the case.
The constitutional amendments came shortly after Muizzu celebrated his first year in office on November 17. The expedited passage of the bill also marked the first time that the PNC employed its supermajority to such effect since winning April’s parliamentary elections.
Earlier this week, the party moved to dismiss five members from the Elections Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission, all of whom had been appointed during the preceding MDP government. Legal changes were also approved for the president to directly appoint the heads of both independent bodies.
The constitutional amendments passed last week included other less controversial provisions: raising the threshold for parliamentary approval to modify Maldivian territory to a three-quarters majority; requiring parliamentary approval for the use of Maldivian territory by foreign nationals for military purposes; and requiring a public referendum in order to amend the article that mandates public referendums for revising key provisions.
But the anti-defection provisions and the president’s new power to devise long-term development plans appear to have ruptured a relatively calm period in Maldivian politics.
Faced with mounting criticism, uizzu addressed the nation last week and defended the changes as “crucial for stability.”
“These amendments are critical decisions made for the sake of the people in order to safeguard the country’s independence, sovereignty, development and stability. These decisions were made by the honorable members of the People’s Majlis with patriotic fervor and in national interest,” he said.