Male’, Maldives – Former Civil Court judge Mohamed Haleem has announced that he is preparing to file a petition with the Supreme Court (SC), requesting to declare that MP of Dhaandhoo constituency, Yauqoob Abdulla has lost his parliamentary seat.
Questions over the legitimacy of Yaugoob’s parliamentary seat arose after his appointment to the council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives (ICAM), created under the recently enacted Chartered Accountants Act. With legal experts questioning his appointment, Yagoob resigned the next day.
However, local media “Sun” reported that Haleem plans on filing the matter to the Supreme Court on Sunday. “Parliamentarians cannot retain their position as parliamentarians after they lose their seat, like marriage reconcilliations after divorce” said Haleem.
As per Article 73 (d) of the constitution, parliamentarians are prohibited from serving as members of an independent commission or in any independent position.
However, Yauqoob is reported to have told “Sun”, on Tuesday that he does not believe his appointment to ICAM, which is an independent and autonomous legal body mandated with the regulation of the accounting profession in the Maldives, poses any legal issues, but found recusing himself to be the best course of action under the circumstances.
“I don’t find any reason why I wouldn’t be allowed to serve in that position. I received counsel which went both ways from a lot of lawyers. But given the difference of opinion, I decided that it would be unwise to continue,” said Yauqoob.
Source: Sun
