Amendment passed granting power to pres. to appoint ACC, EC presidents
According to the current laws governing the ACC and EC, if the Presidents of the commissions wish to resign, they must submit a letter to the commission itself
A sitting of the People's Majlis
The People’s Majlis has passed amendments to laws to change the appointment process of the President and Vice President of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Elections Commission (EC), granting power to the President of the Maldives to make said appointments.
69 lawmakers voted in favor of approving the bill for the ACC during Monday’s parliament sitting, while 10 lawmakers voted against.
69 members voted to approve the bill for the EC, with 10 members voting against it as well.
According to the amendments passed on Monday, the current method of appointing the President and Vice President of the ACC and EC through a vote among commission members will be changed.
As such, the President will now be granted the power to appoint the President and Vice President from among the commission members.
The amendment also states that the President must submit the names of those appointed as President and Vice President to the People's Majlis.
In addition to this, the amendment specifies that the parliament must review and approve the names submitted by the President.
With the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holding a supermajority in the People's Majlis, and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu as the party's leader, political analysts view this change as a way to facilitate the appointment of individuals preferred by Muizzu to lead these two institutions, which are legally mandated to function as independent bodies.
According to the current laws governing the ACC and EC, if the Presidents of the commissions wish to resign, they must submit a letter to the commission itself. The Vice President must submit a letter to the commission's President if they wish to resign. However, under the proposed amendment, both the President and Vice President of both commissions would need to submit their resignation letters to the President himself.
According to experts, the amendments passed by the People's Majlis to the ACC and EC laws will pave the path for increased opportunities for political influence over these two institutions, which have been operating as independent bodies.
The bill to amend the ACC act was submitted to the parliament by MP for Felidhoo constituency Adam Zahir on behalf of the government. The bill to amend the EC act was submitted by MP for Kelaa constituency Abdulla Shareef.
