11 civil society organizations, including Transparency Maldives, have strongly condemned the rushed passage of the constitutional amendment bill in the parliament and its equally rapid ratification by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
The statement released by the organizations stressed that this was done without any transparency in the constitutional amendment process, disregarding the procedures and principles followed in making laws hastily, and in a manner that restricts fundamental democratic principles.
The statement goes on to read that the constitutional amendment process went against Article 4 of the Constitution which states that "all the powers of the State of the Maldives are derived from, and remain with, the citizens."
The statement reads that introducing the bill at an unofficial time at night, passing it the next day and ratifying it is an obstruction to the members of parliament to study the bill, have an intellectual debate about it, and fully satisfy their responsibilities.
Further, it read that it was difficult for the public to accept that the time taken to accept, pass and ratify the constitutional amendment bill in parliament is sufficient for such an amendment.
The statement said that since every constitutional amendment has the potential to affect the operation of the entire state and many fundamental rights of citizens, and constitutional amendments affect all citizens and establish the basis of the system of governance, the organizations believe that every member, civil society organizations and the general public should have the opportunity to fully review and debate these amendments and have a meaningful discussion.
It was also noted that the lack of opportunity for people's representatives to prepare for a meaningful debate and for civil society organizations and citizens to submit opinions regarding a constitutional amendment is an obstruction to the exchange of ideas under democratic principles.
According to Article 133 (b) of the Constitution, the responsibilities of the Attorney General include upholding, protecting and promoting the rule of law, and defending and promoting public safety, public interest and public freedom. Therefore, the statement said it is concerning that the procedural robustness expected from the Attorney General to ensure public participation in such important amendments was not observed.
The statement added that this also raises concerns about the lack of integrity from the party responsible for running the government in bringing such legal amendments.
The organizations went on to express deep concern over the amendment adding an article to the Constitution giving the president sole power to formulate national development policies and plans.
Noting that the Decentralization Act mandates the role of councils in formulating plans to decentralize decision-making on development issues with wide public participation and consultation, the statement noted that giving the president alone, full power to formulate national development policies and plans is contrary to the principles of separation of powers promoted by democratic principles and a step away from the important work done by various governments to shape a decentralized system that played an important role in the Maldives' democratic development and journey.
The organizations highlighted as “particularly” concerning amendments, stating that if an MP resigns or is expelled from the political party they were elected from, they will lose their seat, and that if an independent member joins a political party, they will lose their seat.
The organizations stressed these articles will undermine the core democratic principle of choosing representatives, and restrict the political freedom of members of parliament.
The statement added that if political parties are given the power to expel members, it will force members to vote for everything the party supports without considering their own thinking or the interests of the constituency they were elected from, and eliminate the opportunity for members to vote against the party whip line without fear of losing their seat.
This, the organizations said, would weaken the internal party democracy and silence the voices of elected representatives, making way for obstacles will be created to representing the constituencies that elected those representatives.
Further, the organization stressed that members changing parties for political gain raises questions about members' integrity and opens the door to corruption. Instead of amending the Constitution to give certain people powers to stop these issues, a comprehensive solution could be brought by strengthening the anti-corruption legal framework.
The organizations "strongly" urged to make the constitutional amendment a change brought in parliament in compliance with democratic principles and legal procedures.
The organizations also urged the government and parliament to ensure full public participation, transparency and accountability principles are maintained through adequate consultation.
Legislating outside the principles and procedures established to safeguard the legislative process will undermine the integrity of the legislative stages and reduce trust in the legislature and the system of governance.
The statement went on to note that if a culture of legislating outside such principles in lawmaking surfaces, this would be seen as work done directly contrary to the spirit of the Constitution to concentrate powers, facilitating corruption and raising questions about state transparency and accountability, defeating the real purpose of amending laws.
