Malé, Maldives — The Speaker and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed states that this is not the right time to debate about changing the governing system.
The statement comes from the Speaker after Kaashidhoo MP, Abdulla Jabir sought to change the governing system of the country to a parliamentary system from a presidential system.
The Speaker responded to the parliamentarian by saying that although he has the same thought as him and has always supported the decision of changing the country’s system, this is not the right time to debate about changing systems.
“Although I agree with the change the MP of Kaashidhoo is referring to, our views on how to bring the change are very different. And I do not think this is the right time to debate about any changes in the governing system,” Speaker Nasheed responded to MP Jabir.
Furthermore, the Speaker also noted that according to the rules of the parliament, the bill that MP Jabir proposed has to be put on the agenda before debating about it. He further stated that what will be done regarding the issue will be decided by the parliament members.
The bill MP Jabir proposed talks about how the referred presidential system in Maldives is not being carried out appropriately, therefore the only way to protect the citizens from the negative affects they endure from the current systems is by changing the system to a parliamentary systems.
Although the amendment bill proposed by MP Jabir has been accepted, according to article 261 of the constitution, in order to amend the constitution, 3/4 of the parliament must be in favor of the change. That is a total of 66 votes.
